The Fighter
by EmergentWriter
Summary: In which Touko goes on an adventure with Cheren and Bianca, meets N, and generally kicks ass. Because with a name that means The Fighter, what else is a girl to do? Partial songfic.
1. Chapter 1

**And in comes EmergentWriter into the wonderful world of Pokemon! Please hold your applause. . . Yeah, no. Enough of that. This is my first pokemon fanfic, because who can resist FerrisWheelShipping? If you like ChessShipping, go away. There's none here. Now that THAT'S out of the way. . .**

**This is my story in Touko's POV (who calls their kid Hilda?), and it just follows the events of Pokemon Black because I like Reshiram. The dialogue I wrote, except for N's initial introduction to Touko, but it does encompass everything in the game. Long chapters, I don't know how people are going to react to them but, meh, whatever.**

**The text in italics is the lyrics from the song The Fighter by Gym Class Heroes, so. . . yeah. . . I don't have anything else to say. Sorry for the long authoress's note, I swear none of the others will be this long! On with the story!**

**Disclaimer; A fourteen-year-old girl owns Pokemon. Ok, let's go with that -_-**

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_Just waking up in the morning and to be, well, quite honest with you, I ain't really sleep well_

My eyes creak open to a bright wash of sunlight flooding through my open window, a soft summer breeze blowing against my cheek, and the incessant beeping of my alarm clock. Groaning, I roll over and clumsily slap at my small bedside table, trying to shut the thing up.

I flail around desperately, knocking several knick-knacks off of my table, before I finally manage to hit the off button on the infernal device. Sighing, I roll over, relishing the warm cocoon of my bed, and I bury my face into my pillow, muttering something along the lines of, "Five more minutes!"

The one day that I need to be up just _has _to be the day after the night that I can't sleep. Staring at the ceiling and constantly checking the glowing red digits on the clock didn't really help my insomnia, either. Why was I awake so late last night anyways? And why did I have to be up . . . ?

A bolt of remembrance shoots through my groggy mind, and I groan loudly. Today is the day Professor Juniper me, Cheren, and Bianca our first Pokémon. Pokémon! I attempt to leap out of bed, but only manage to become helplessly entangled in the blankets and sheets, which leads to me landing painfully on the floor.

. . . Right in time for Cheren to walk in. His navy gaze lands on my dishevelled bed, then my alarm clock, which is hanging by the wire from my table, and then me myself, sprawled on the floor. He does the most predictable thing he can. He laughs.

"Oversleep again, did we?" I narrow my eyes at him, and childishly stick out my tongue. "Shut up, Specs," I say, referring to him by his nickname from when we were kids. Even at seventeen, the name still sticks.

"Not that I _mind _seeing you just out of bed, but next time, _tell _me when you're going to do that sort of-" "OUT!" I yell, pointing to the open door while trying to disentangle myself and get up of of the pink and purple carpet.

He complies, eyes twinkling with mischief behind his nerdy glasses, neatly shutting the door behind him. I sigh, and begin the arduous task of getting ready for our big day.

After ten minutes, I'm pretty sure I look presentable. Giving myself a once-over in my mirror, I recoil in shock. This isn't Touko White anymore. This is an independent girl setting out on her first journey.

My long, chestnut hair is pulled back in a tight high ponytail, and I've left long strands to hang loose, being too lazy to redo the whole thing. I have my pink-ish bag sitting ready by my bookshelf, and my black bracelet is snug on my right wrist. I'm wearing almost indecently short shorts with the pockets ripped out, courtesy of my mom's Liepard. White tank top under a black vest, and a pink and white baseball cap swinging from my finger, I'm a different person.

This is only confirmed by Cheren bursting in again after a muffled, "Are you decent?" Not like he cares that much. We've known each other for so long, the regular girl-boy things kind of just fade out.

He walks in, does a double-take and says, "Where's Touko?" I, being the lovely friend that I am, smack him upside the head and tell him to shut up. "Ow!" he moans ruefully, rubbing his scalp gingerly where I hit him.

And then, only then, do I realize what he's holding. A gift-wrapped blue box tied with a green satin ribbon and sealed with a fluffy green bow. It takes all of my self-control not to tear open the box there and then.

Cheren probably sees the glint in my eyes, because he intervenes. "Touko, you know we should wait for Bianca to show up before you open that." I open my mouth to protest indignantly, but he cuts me off. "I know when you have one of those stupid plans." I shut it again quickly.

But the box has_ Pokémon_! The date has been circled on my calendar for ages, a huge red ring of marker with my looping writing all around it. June 21st, the first day of summer, already evident from the Pidove chirping outside.

I look at Cheren, and he looks back at me. Our gazes land on the Wii sitting inconspicuously in the corner. "Matchup Mashup?" I ask him innocently. "Oh, you're on," he says, and we grab at the remotes. "Of course, you know I'm going to kick your ass, right?"

Cheren responds by launching me into the fiercest game of Matchup I've ever played.

We're halfway through a Dragon-Steel battle when a blond rushes through my door, trips over my dresser and crashes into me. I stumble backwards, hitting the Wii, and losing the intense game Cheren and I had been engaged in. "You owe me ten Poké," he says vaguely.

"Bianca!" I moan. "We were kinda in the middle of something. . ." "Ooh," says Bianca, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "I should leave you guys to it, then. . ." Cheren goes red and Bianca giggles, making her way over to him.

Being in such close proximity to Bianca makes Cheren turn even brighter red, and I stifle a laugh behind my hand. They both are so obvious about each other, and yet neither wants to admit it. It's hopeless, really.

I figure I have to do something to diffuse the, ahem, "sexual tension" in the room, so I clear my throat loudly. "Um, Pokémon, guys?" This sends both of my best friends flying over to the little table as though their lives depended on it, even calm, reserved Cheren.

Cheren grabs the note left for us, scans it, and then drops it and looks at us expectantly. "What?" I say, when no answer is forthcoming from Bianca. "I don't know all about these Pokémon adventures, Cheren. I'm not a walking dictionary like you."

Cheren immediately goes into a long explanation about how there are three Pokémon in the box, and they are different types, and how they will be our partners, and so on. Meanwhile, Bianca and I have already pulled the ribbon off of the box.

"Hey, Bee," I say. "Put this on your head." "Ooh!" she exclaims, and sticks the bow onto the top of her green beret. We both collapse into giggles at how ridiculous she looks, completely ignoring Cheren and his spiel.

"So, shall we choose our Pokémon?" Cheren says, and then looks at us. Bianca is lying on the floor in her white and orange dress, with a green bow in her hair, giggling about some joke about three Patrat and a bar. Cheren turns to me in defeat.

I look up at the word _Pokémon, _and retrieve the box with the little creatures inside. "I call dibs on choosing first," I say, not really caring if I sound childish. "Awww!" calls Bianca from the floor. "Come on, Bee," Cheren says. "They were delivered to Touko's house." "By you," Bianca grumbles, but she lets me open the box.

Three small capsules sit wobbling in a swathe of tissue paper, and I sit, letting the reality wash over me. I'm getting my very own Pokémon. The hushed sense of awe is broken by none other than Bianca. "Well? Choose one!"

My hand hovers over the first ball, and I get an immediate sense of determination radiating from it. Nope. Too focussed. That one would be better for Cheren. I switch my position so that my hand is hovering over the second ball, and a giggling, laughing presence fills me. No. That would be better for giggly, bouncy Bianca.

So that leaves the last Poké Ball, and I'm starting to worry that maybe none of the Pokémon suit me, and that I'll have to wait another year, but as soon as my hand comes into contact with the plastic surface, I know that this is the right one. A calm, refreshing sense comes from it, and I close my fingers around the capsule. "This one," I say confidently, and I press it to my lips, then toss it high into the air. Out pops a little snake-y thing, grass type I think. I love it instantly.

The little creature is long-ish and slender, with a snake-like snout and wide, intelligent amber eyes. It has a green kind of jacket design down its waist and back, ending in a leafy green tail. "Snivy," she says, puffing out her chest and waving a frond of a hand coolly towards me. "T-Touko," I say.

The Pokémon -Snivy- walks over to me and drapes herself over my shoulder. "Sniv," she says, and snuggles into me. "Aw! What a cutie!" says Bianca. "I call next!" Without even pausing, she grabs a Poké Ball at random and chucks it into the air.

"Oshawott!" A little blue otter pops out of its capsule and looks at Bianca curiously. After evaluating her for a second, the Oshawott bounces happily over to her. "Osha!" Bianca's eyes light up, and she claps giddly. "I'm going to call you Rayne, okay?"

The Oshawott, Rayne, cocks his head to the side, thinking. "Wott," he announces with a smile. Cheren looks at Bianca in disbelief. "Seriously? Just take a Pokémon, why don't you?" he says, but I know he's joking around. "It's okay. I wanted Tepig anyways."

Cheren pulls out the last Poké Ball and carefully throws it into the air. A little orange pig emerges witha flash of light and an audible _pop._ "Te-PIG," it says, and Cheren goes off downstairs to formally introduce it to himself.

Then Bianca decides that we should battle. Inside. Let's just say that the results were as expected (I won) and that my room was completely and utterly destroyed. "Oops," says Bianca as she takes in the footprints on the ceiling and the smashed furniture,

"Oops?" says Cheren, bursting in again with his Tepig, whose name is apparently now Majesty. "You kind of destroyed her room, Bianca." Lovely, oblivious Bianca. "Oops," she repeats, more apologetically.

Of course, she can't stay on one topic for more than a minute, so the next thing out of her mouth is, "Touko should battle Cheren!" Well, okay. My room is already trashed as it is, so why not?

Snivy and I win again, without destroying too much else, and we leave Cheren looking pretty dejected. "Don't worry, Cheren," Bianca says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It was your first battle, after all." Cheren shrugs, and then he gets that look that_ I _usually have, the one that says, "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid." "Race you to the lab."

So that's how my mom ended up with the three of us landing in a pile down the stairs, in the middle of our living room. She looks at us, her face unreadable, and then bursts out laughing at us. Thanks, mom.

"Um. . . Ms White?" Bianca starts. "We kind of destroyed Touko's room. . ." To my surprise, and our probably obvious relief, my mom just smiles. "That's fine, dear," she says to all of us. "I'll clean it up later." Wait, WHAT?

"And I also have something for you three," she continues. WHAT? This day just keeps getting better and better. . . "Here's your Cross-Transceiver, but most people call it an Xtransceiver. It's a video phone, with some attachments. You'll be able to figure them out by yourself."

Bianca lets out a whoop of joy. "Thanks, Touko's mom!" Cheren is a little more dignified. "Thank you, Ms White," he says smoothly. "Thanks, mom," I say, strapping the blocky device to my left wrist.

"Now, what's this I hear about a race. . ?" my mom says. We're gone so fast, I'm sure there are images left where we were standing. Bianca stops outside my house after Cheren is gone, and turns to me. "Touko, I have to grab some stuff first, okay? I'll see you there."

Bianca starts walking down the dirt road, and then I remember the race. Swearing under my breath, I sprint after Cheren. We meet, panting, in front of Professor Juniper's lab, and I recover first, seeing as Cheren has asthma. "Let's call it a draw, yeah?" "M'k," comes the muffled response from behind the inhaler beside me. I roll my eyes and set off to fetch Bianca.

When I get to Bianca's house, I see something that honestly, I was kind of expecting. Bianca and her dad are having a face-off in the middle of the living room, while her mom is standing off to the side in the kitchen, watching the whole thing.

Bianca's dad has always been really overprotective, but I never thought he would try to stop Bianca from going on her adventure with us. "You're staying in Nuvema Town, and that's final!" Bianca takes a step back, but her voice remains steady. "I'm going, and I'm going NOW!" she yells, and storms out of the house.

Then she sees me, and pulls her floppy beret down over her eyes. "Let's just pretend that never happened, okay?" she murmurs, then rushes ahead of me to the lab.

I meet my friends outside of the lab, by the little wind propeller. As I draw near, Professor Juniper comes out from between the sliding doors and invites us in. As we stand there, she gives us the whole talk about what we got Pokémon for, our journey, the Pokédex, Gym Leaders, etcetera. . .

By the time she's finished, Snivy is out and playing with my hair, Rayne is blowing large blue bubbles around the lab, and Cheren is the only one who's actually paying any attention.

"So, did you three get all that?" she asks us, and for some reason, I don't like her tone. It reminds me too much of the condescending tone my dad used with me before he abandoned my mom. I couldn't care less about where he went. "Yes, Professor," we chorus back sweetly.

"Good!" she beams, reaching behind her to get something off of her overflowing desk. "Where did I put them. . ?" she mumbles to herself, sifting through stacks of paper. I notice three Pokédexes being juggled by Rayne, and I smirk to myself. That's probably what she's looking for.

After five minutes of this, Rayne looks about ready to chuck the machines at Professor Juniper's head. "I'm so sorry, I swear to Arceus I had them right here. . ." she says, her neat brown bun of hair becoming not-so-neat. "Um, Professor?" I say finally.

"Touko, not now," she says, and I feel a hint of anger bubble up inside of me. "But Professor, _are these the Pok__é__dexes?" _I point at Rayne, who hastily drops them and hides behind Bianca. In a quick movement, Snivy slips off of my shoulder and catches the machines, handing them resentfully to the Professor.

"Oh!" she says happily. "There they are!" I try not to make a face, and Cheren and Bianca laugh silently at me. "So, here you are," Juniper says, passing out the little consoles. "These will keep track of all the Pokémon you see- but I've already gone over this! I'll see you on Route 1 to show you how to catch Pokémon!" With that, she bustles out of the building, leaving us alone. Never a good idea, that.

Cheren and Bianca immediately burst into loud laughter, causing the scientists to shush them and causing me to give them an icy glare. "Your FACE!" Bianca manages to choke out between gasps for air. Cheren has tears streaming down his face, and he's gasping for air as well.

Rayne, Majesty, and Snivy seem to think this whole ordeal is pretty funny too, so they start pointing as best they can at me and start laughing too, which sends my friends into further conniptions.

Eventually, it's impossible for me to keep up my glare any longer and I start laughing as well, so when my mom walks in through the electronic doors it's to find three hysterical teenagers and three hysterical Pokémon. "Oh, Touko!" she exclaims. "I was just looking for you!" Uh oh.

"You forgot your Map!" she says cheerily, with no mention whatsoever of my room and our previous battles. "Oh, right, my. . . Map. . ?" I trail off, unsure of what, exactly, getting a map entails. What map? "And I brought some for Cheren and Bianca, too, so you don't have to fight!"

She pulls out three maps from I don't want to know where, and hands them to us. I scan it over. Accumula Town? Icirrus City? Seriously? What's with all these cloud names?

My mom snaps me out of it by giving me a huge hug and whispering in my ear. "Promise to come back, okay?" I know what she means. She means that she doesn't want me to leave like my dad did and never come back.

Then she pulls back, bright and cheery again. "Have fun, kids!" she says, blowing us all an imaginary kiss, and then walking back to our little house with the neat green planters.

There is a moment of silence as it sinks in for all of us that we are leaving home. Home with the sparkling blue ocean, the beautiful summer wind, the chatty people and the little white flowers.

Bianca breaks the silence. "Touko?" "Mmm?" I say, staring out at the waves, across the endless sea to where I'm sure other regions await. "Your mom is pretty cool." In response, I grab her hat and start sprinting towards Route 1, Bianca and Cheren in close pursuit.

This is going to be quite an adventure. And I, Touko White, am determined to make the most of it.

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**So yeah, reviews? Don't if you don't want to, or you're lazy like me, but they ARE appreciated. Just sayin'. And Bianca's Oshawott will put out any flames I recieve :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I just realised that this was unedited and had to go back and fix it -_- Sorry for the false alarm on the update thing**

**Disclaimer; Can I pretend to own N, just to make me feel better?**

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_Ya ever feel like your train of thought's been derailed?_

Freaky people in quilted robes are the last thing I expect to see in peaceful little Accumula Town. But then again, a lot of things that I didn't expect have happened to me, so I can't really talk.

I had taken my first step out of my hometown onto Route 1 at exactly the same time as Cheren and Bianca. According to my flighty friend, it was "a bonding thing." And since she got to choose about us doing that, Cheren decided to have a Pokémon-catching competition.

. . . After Professor Juniper showed us how to catch Pokémon. Apparently, you can't just chuck a ball at the thing and be done with it. No, you had to weaken it first, and _then_ throw a Poké Ball and wait for three wobbles and a click.

That woman just knows everything.

After that, I meandered around Route 1, enjoying the scent of the yellow flower petals drifting by, and breathing in the briny sea air by the small beach. I was excited to finally be out of Nuvema Town, after 17 years there.

Snivy strolled along beside me, leisurely picking up the odd flower or leaf and examining it carefully. We caught a Pidove together, and Snivy grew two levels by battling wild Pokémon that we found in the tall green grasses.

When we reached the end of Route 1, we found that the result of our little "competition" was that we had to call it a draw. Cheren had caught himself a Purrloin, Bianca a Lillipup, and I had my Pidove. Seeing as we all had one new pokemon each, Cheren called a three-way tie.

And that about brings us back to now. I take my first step into Accumula Town, and instantly, something's different. Maybe it's the smell of flowers in the air instead of sea salt. Maybe it's the tall apartments instead of short, squat cottages. Or maybe it's the freaky robe people standing on a little hill a few routes away.

Cheren looks at me, and then back to them. "What the hel- meh. Whatever. Come on, Touko, let's go to the Pokémon Centre." The Pokémon Centre. Something else I had never heard about.

At this point, you're probably thinking, "Who let this girl go on an adventure?" The reason I know absolutely nothing is my mom. Short and simple, my dad left one day when I was eight, saying that he would be back in a few days, and that he was just continuing his adventure.

He never came back.

I mean, he sends stuff in the mail all the time, so we know he's not dead, but it's not the same as having a real flesh-and-blood dad standing in front of you. Arceus, he sent me a flat-screen TV once, but it doesn't take away the sting. My mom and I were both broken-hearted, of course, and she decided never to teach me anything outside of Nuvema Town so that I would stay.

Fat lot of good that did, but at least I know that I'm coming back someday. But from then on, I haven't let any boy near to me except Cheren, who I already knew. I didn't want to go through the process of loss again. Maybe this journey will change things. Who knows?

Anyways, Cheren and Bianca each seize one side of my vest and pull me over to a large orange building situated smack in the middle of the town. It looks like it has two stories, and I'm guessing that this is where you buy Trainer supplies, as well as heal your Pokémon.

Professor Juniper is in front of it, in her pristine white lab coat and her clean green skirt and her shining orange earrings. I notice that she and Bianca have the same kind of colour scheme going on, but then I decide that now probably isn't the best time to mention that.

"Oh, good, the three of you are here!" she exclaims as soon as we approach. She leads us into the Pokémon Centre, and Bianca eagerly bounds ahead, already pulling out her pink Liepard-print wallet.

Cheren and I exchange looks, and then start to laugh. Trust Bianca to buy anything within sight she can afford, let alone whether she can use it or not. Professor Juniper gives us a stern look. "Is something amusing?" "No, Professor," Cheren says smoothly. I just try not to glower at her.

While the Professor explains how to heal Pokémon at the desk, Snivy makes a reappearance. She stretches out her long body, then twists her way up my arm like a thin green bracelet. "Vy?" she asks me, and I hand her an oran berry to keep her quiet.

"And this is the Poké Mart! You can buy potions, antidotes, Poké Balls, anything! You'll be able to buy more items once you beat more of the gyms. Well, I need to get back to the lab. See you around!" And with that, Juniper turns and goes off down the road again, towards Nuvema and her beloved lab. The last thing I see of her is her pure white sneakers disappearing down the road.

Trying out the Pokémon Centre, I leave Cheren to do. . . whatever Cheren does and walk up to the counter. "Hi," I say, slightly nervously. "Good afternoon!" says a lady with bright pink hair. "Welcome to the Pokémon Centre. We restore your tired Pokémon to full health. Would you like to rest your Pokémon?"

I exit the Pokémon Centre slightly stunned, but with my bag full of medicine and my Pokémon healthy and ready to go. Nurse Joy, the healer at the Pokémon Centre, had the whole talk memorized up to the, "We hope to see you again!"

Cheren follows me out shortly after, wearing the same shell-shocked expression. "Pretty intense. Huh?" I say, laughing a bit at his wide eyes behind his glasses. "I knew they all said the same thing, but. . . wow. . ."

Bianca comes bouncing out again, her bag suspiciously fuller and her wallet notably thinner. She's grinning from ear to ear. "Brace yourself for an earful," I whisper to Cheren. True to her nature, Bianca starts babbling on loudly about, "the wonderful lady who told her about nicknames!"

Then her jade-green gaze falls on me. Uh oh. "Touko!" Oh dear. "You should nickname your Pokémon!" Oh. Ok. I reach into my bag, fumbling with the different pockets, and finally find the one with my Pokémon.

Kissing the front of the capsule, I toss it up into the air, and with a flash of light, my Pidove emerges. "Pi?" she cooes, and I stroke her soft grey back. "Hey, sweetie," I say softly. "Sniii!" Snivy says indignantly, pushing her leafy body onto my lap.

"Hey, guys," I smile. Bianca gives me a look that obviously says, _really, Touko?_ "Girls," I amend quickly before Bianca can reach over Cheren to hit me. "Bianca says I'm supposed to give you nicknames. You _girls _okay with that?"

My Pidove bobs her head up and down, spreading her wings, and Snivy nods once, which I take as a yes. Pidove, how does Swift sound to you?" She cooes excitedly and flaps her wings, buffeting back my hair from my face. "I guess that's good, then," I smile, and Bianca giggles. "See? It brings you closer together!"

And I guess, in a way, it does. Instead of having a Pokémon that just carries the name of its species, now I have a unique individual, a person, or Pokémon, of my own.

"Okay, Snivy, what about. . . Jade?" Snivy responds by smacking me across the face with her leafy tail, leaving an astonished red mark. "Sni VY!" "I guess not, then," I mutter, rubbing my stinging cheek. Bianca looks taken aback for a moment, and then she springs into action.

"Snivy, you are NOT to hit your own Trainer! Or any other Trainer, for that matter. " "Vyy. . ." Snivy gives me an apologetic look, and I scoop her into my arms again. "No more hitting, alright? Even if my nicknames suck." "Snivy," she agrees, twining around my neck.

The rest of the day goes pretty much like this; Cheren, Bianca and I hanging out with our Pokémon, Snivy rejecting every nickname I throw out there. So far Kohana, Fern, Elle, Bonsai, and Glade are out.

"Okay, that's it," I finally say, sitting down across from the grass snake. "From now on, you're Sakura." And she likes it. The most unimaginative name I can come up with, and she likes it. Go figure. "Sakura," she says proudly, picking a little pink flower and sticking it behind her ear.

By now, it's early evening, and after exploring one route today, we decide that it's not worth it to set out again now. We're sitting on a bench, enjoying the sunset and some ice cream (mostly the ice cream) with our Pokémon when the robe people finally arrive.

The most important person by far seems to be a middle-aged man wearing a gold and purple quilted gown with big open eyes embroidered on the front. Creepy. His chest and throat are adorned with a crown-like collar, set with blue stones the colour of the ocean outside Nuvema.

What unsettles me the most, though, is the fact that one of his eyes is covered with an angry red eye patch, while the eye with vision is glaring straight at me with obvious malice. Never mind that he has green hair, his eyes definitely scare me the most.

The robed man is surrounded by a group of people in uniform, evidently of a lower rank that robe dude is. I stifle a laugh with my fist, and I hear Bianca do the same. They are all in matching outfits or grey-blue, and they all look like knights out of a children's fairy tale book. They also all have red hair.

"Gingers have no souls," Bianca informs me from my right, her blond hair tickling my cheek as she whispers in my ear. "Thanks, Bee," I mutter sarcastically. "I really needed that at the moment, what with all the extra creepiness going around." She giggles lightly. I sigh.

"Why are we friends again?" I ask mockingly, and she looks at me with huge green eyes. "Because you love me?" I laugh. "Yeah, that's about it," I say. I almost say, "Cheren certainly does," but he'd kill me. For sure.

We turn back to the presentation happening in the town square, and a small crowd is gathering around us. Whispers fill the dusky air, whispers of, "What is this?" and, "Who are these people?" I'd rather like to know that myself.

My eyes catch a glimpse of tea green off to the side, and I see a boy, not much older than I am. Eighteen, nineteen years old, maximum. He's fiddling with what looks like a Rubik's cube, but the centre blocks are missing. A Menger Sponge, I remember from one of Cheren's rants.

I can't see his face, because he's wearing a black and white baseball cap, but he has long, green hair, almost as long as my own, tied up in a messy ponytail. He looks lonely, and I consider going over and talking to him.

"Hey, Bee," I whisper, nudging her in the side. She yelps slightly, and nearly drops Rayne, who squeaks in protest. "What's up, Touko?" "See that cute guy over there?" I say, pointing in the general direction of where I saw the strange boy.

"What cute guy? Wait, YOU saw a cute guy?!" "THAT one, the only one he- what the hell?" He's gone. And I swear, if I'm going crazy on the first day of my journey. . . "Never mind," I say defeatedly. "It must've been a trick of the light."

It IS getting darker out here, and the Woobat are all out, so it might have been easy for me to imagine a guy. . . No. I couldn't have imagined bright green hair like that, could I? Must be the early start I had.

I smother a large yawn with my hand as I glance up at the steadily darkening sky. Even though there are no clouds, the sun has already gone down, and the town is bathed in a purple-orange glow.

"Excuse me, all!" calls the robed guy (I have GOT to find out his name). He's now standing on the hill in the middle of the town square, flanked by his little minions, and surrounded on two sides by banners. A strange P emblem is emblazoned on a black and white background, and a blue lightning bolt is shooting through it. Weird.

"My name is Ghetsis," he starts, and right away, I notice his voice. Even though he's not speaking too loudly, his voice carries this sense of icy control and command. It scares me even more then the eye patch that I want to listen to what he has to say.

"Today, ladies and gentlemen," he says, when Cheren smirks beside me. "What?" I say, trying to shush him by putting my probably disgusting hand over his mouth. He smacks it away quickly, spitting.

"Which one are you again?" he grins, and I smack the back of his head with the flat of my hand. "We've been over this, Cherry," I say. "I'm a tomgirl. So." Just because I'm not Bianca. . . Cheren grimaces at the nickname and turns back to the grassy podium.

"I would like to speak to you about Pokémon liberation." Outraged murmurs burst out over the increasing crowd, and I can tell that not many people like this idea. Liberate Pokémon? Why?

Swift twitters nervously and hides her beak under her wing, preening herself and staring at the strange man- Ghetsis. He continues to speak, ignoring the hushed whispers echoing around him.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However. . . is that really the truth?" What other way is there to live? A life without Pokémon? That's absurd.

I decide there and then that I despise Ghetsis, and from Cheren's stony glare and Bianca's balled fists, I can tell that they feel the same. Sakura hisses angrily and spits an oran berry see in Ghetsis's general direction.

"Have you ever considered that we, as humans. . . only assume this is the truth?" How can he presume to talk about humans as though he isn't one of us? I can't believe that our Pokémon would feel any other way about us. Wouldn't they do something. . ?

"Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers. . . They get pushed around when they are our "partners" at work. . . Can anyone saw with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"

Letting my mouth take over and forgetting my brain again, I immediately shout out, "I can!" There is a dead silence, and my voice echoes throughout the shocked crowd. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a blur of green, and I look to the side.

A head has snapped up quickly to look at me, and I feel myself blush faint pink. There is the forgotten puzzle on his lap, and no dark shadow covering his face this time.

The boy I noticed earlier is there, and through the dreary gloom covering the town, I can see his eyes. They are a unique greeny-grey, like lichen, and they are drilling into my own aqua eyes, burning with questions and intelligence. Deep and conflicted, like a stormy sea.

Good. I'm not going crazy and seeing things. Though, now that I think about it, that guy IS kind of cute, and for me to be thinking that is crazy in itself. I haven't let any guy near me since my dad left.

Turning my attention back up front, I break eye contact with the intriguing boy and find an icy glare fixed on me. Ghetsis is staring me down with his one good eye, and his gaze makes me shiver, even though it isn't that cold outside.

He holds my gaze for a moment, and then turns back to the assembled audience, as though nothing had ever happened. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans."

"Really?" says Bianca sarcastically. "I thought we were _exactly _the same." This is why we're best friends. "Liepard has claws," I smirk, and she gives me an exasperated look that I'm sure I know _way _too well.

Ghetsis plows on, determinedly ignoring our whispered conversation in the back, which has people turning towards us curiously. "They are living beings that contain potential. They are living beings from whom we have much to learn."

"Dovvv," Swift trills happily, causing Ghetsis to shoot me another loaded look. I'm so close to saying, "Well, I'm sorry _my _Pokémon are happy," but he looks like someone who could get me in a lot trouble, so once again, I keep my mouth shut.

"Tell me, what is our responsibility to these wonderful beings called Pokémon?" he says calmly, smiling benignly at the crowd, pausing to glare when his good eye sweeps over me. Another cold shiver runs through me, but I refuse to let this preachy old man intimidate me.

Mutters break out again, and I hear snippets of conversations across the group surrounding us. "Liberation," a quick, confident voice rings out, and I see that guy quickly shut his mouth again.

"Liberation?" Bianca, Cheren and I exchange dubious looks, and Cheren touches me lightly on the shoulder. "Wanna leave?" he asks.

I consider it. I really do. But for some reason, I want to stay and see how this whole thing plays out. "I'll hang around," I say, and he looks surprised. Bianca rolls her eye dramatically and sighs. "I'm not putting up with this nonsense any longer. I'll meet you two at the Pokémon Centre later."

And with that, Bianca walks off with some of the rest of the crowd. "Creepy guy," Cheren mutters, adjusting his glasses. Ghetsis or the boy I saw? Because creepy is different from, well, _different. _"No kidding," I agree, as Ghetsis starts talking again.

"That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly become equals." Again with the liberate the Pokémon stuff. Sakura twines possessively around my neck, and Swift's sharp claws are biting into my shoulder. I don't think my Pokémon want to be liberated.

"Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon, and the correct way to proceed. Team Plasma sincerely appreciates your attention." Thank goodness _that's _over with.

And then I remember something from World Studies that makes me pause as I'm leaving the square. Didn't faraway Sinnoh and Johto have trouble with teams? Team Galactic? Team Rocket? Cheren breaks me out of my thoughts by nudging me.

"Well, that was certainly. . . different," he says dryly, watching "Team Plasma" pack up and leave in an overly militaristic fashion. "No kidding," I fire back. "That guy must've been on Shroomish powder or something."

Cheren snorts derisively. "Just a bit. Hey, Touko, I'm going to drop by the infamous musician's house down the road. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" "Sure," I say, already thinking about teams again.

"I'll meet you at the Pokémon Centre, yeah?" "Sure thing," I say absentmindedly, letting my Pokémon down so that they can walk with me. I see Cheren's retreating back moving up the stairs in front of me, and then I start wandering about, determined to see all of little Accumula Town before nightfall.

The next thing I know, I'm lying flat on the ground, and my head throbs like a Timburr hit it with its plank. A hazy figure stands over me, and as my vision clears, I suck in a sharp breath. It's the boy I saw earlier, the one with the long, tea-green hair. He extends a hand to me, and I stare at it cautiously.

"I apologize for not watching where I was going," he says, and I can't help but notice how nicely his voice flows, soft and melodic, almost rhythmic. His deep grey-green eyes bore into mine, and for the first time ever, I think, I'm left totally speechless. He quickly solves the problem by introducing himself.

"My name is N."


	3. Chapter 3

**Whoa guys. It's been a while, hasn't it? I am SO sorry. Honestly, I have been writing, but I haven't had ANY time to upload, so here's a longer-ish chapter to compensate. Also, I found the wonderful world of SoulSilverShipping :) Important author's note at the end, but for now, just. . . Here's the story -_-**

* * *

_That's when you try out new trails_

Quickly regaining my composure, I accept the outstretched hand, noticing how well his long fingers fit in between mine. "I'm Touko. Touko White," I say, no longer tongue-tied.

He smiles, a soft curve of his lips that is barely visible unless you're really looking. Not that I'm looking or anything. "My pleasure, Touko White," N replies, smiling wryly as he pulls me up off the dusty ground and shakes my hand uncertainly.

I squeeze his hand and shake it firmly before dropping it again and taking in the stranger in front of me. He has the long green hair I saw before, pulled back in an unrealistically messy ponytail, and green bangs frame a delicate, boyish face.

He has a black and white baseball cap with a large front brim, the reason I couldn't see his eyes earlier. Said eyes are fixated on some point in the distance, which I'm thankful for, as it gives me more time to openly evaluate this "N."

He's wearing kind of odd clothing, but nowhere near as strange as Team Plasma. A white dress shirt (collared!) covers a black long-sleeved tee, and he's wearing long beige pants with green sneakers. The beloved Menger sponge hangs from a chain on his belt, and a little planet dangles from a string around his neck.

N seems to be pale, far paler than is natural (**hahahahah Natural XD sorry. Shutting up now)**, and I guess he's just one of those kids who hasn't been outside a lot. Three square bangles clank on his left wrist, and a bracelet of gold and black loops around his other arm. One of those rich kids, maybe?

N's soft voice brings me back to reality, and I struggle to hear what he's saying. He talks so quietly, and so quickly! "Your Pokémon. . . Just now, it was saying-" Cheren picks an interesting spot to interrupt.

"Slow down, what? Touko's Pokémon were _talking?!"_ "Cheren!" I hiss, jabbing my friend in his bony side with my elbow, in between his ribs. "Be polite!" I don't know why I'm trying to defend this guy I just met, a guy called _N, _of all things.

I feel my cheeks heat up with a deep red blush as those grey eyes sweep over Cheren and come to land on me. They're tinted with sadness now, and a faint tinge of frustration. "Yes, they're talking," N says, sounding slightly confused, his eyes flicking between me and Cheren.

"That's ridiculous," says Cheren abruptly, grabbing my arm. "Come one, Touko, we're leaving." I jerk my arm back angrily and whirl around to face him, glowering. He knows how much I don't like to be touched without permission, and should know better than to just grab me.

"Cheren, the least you can do is try to be nice to someone you just met, whether you think they're insane or not." Cheren mumbles something under his breath and starts furiously cleaning his glasses.

"Sorry," I say apologetically, turning back to N. N's eyes continue to scrutinise us until he simply says, "Oh." "Oh?" I ask, curious as to why this guy would- "Then you can't hear it either. . . How sad."

I'm starting to think that N may be an escapee from a mental hospital. A cute escapee, mind you, but still an escapee. Cheren butts back into the conversation with a rude, "Who ARE you, anyways?"

"My name is N," he says simply, without anger or retaliation in his voice. "N, like the letter N?" N dips his head in silent agreement, and I find myself admiring him already. I can't stand Cheren's jibes for more than five minutes without snapping. "Well, Specs, you can't really make fun of him with a name like Cherry. . ."

"Come _on, _Touko." Cheren tugs at my bag strap this time, which I suppose is better than my arm. Unfortunately, it causes my Pokédex to tumble out of its pocket, and it lands on the ground with a sickening snap. "Cheren! Arceus. . ." I drop to the ground, grabbing at my little pink and white machine.

As I reach down to pick it up, a hand closes around it and holds it out to me. "Thanks. . ." The words die in my throat as I realize that it is N, and not Cheren who is helping me.

Unfazed, N gives me that same maddeningly calm smile. "The Pokédex, eh?" "Yeah," I say, shakily accepting the console and shoving it into my pink bag. I vaguely register that everything I have is pink, and that I don't even like pink all that much.

"So. . . You're going to confine many, many Pokémon in Poké Balls for that, then," he says, and a glimpse of extreme sadness passes over N's face. It lingers there for a second, and then disappears as quickly as a summer storm.

"Well, not necessarily," I say, right as Cheren snaps, "Yes." I glare at him, and he shrinks back. "I mean, even though I'm a Trainer, I can still have my Pokémon out and around me, can't I?"

I'm not even too sure of the rules for being a Trainer, but I don't want my Pokémon to be upset. Containing them in Poké Balls seems so. . . manipulative. "Pidove," Swift cooes softly, nuzzling my cheek with her smooth beak.

N's face darkens slightly, and I shiver. He reminds me a bit of Ghetsis, that Team Plasma guy, when he's mad. "I'm a Trainer too, but I can't help wondering. . . Are Pokémon really happy that way?" Oh, no. Not another "Pokémon Liberation" advocate.

"Mine are," I snap back, not really in the mood to deal with any more babble today. "Snivy!" Sakura agrees, dropping to land defensively at my feet, while Swift flutters at my shoulder.

"Well, Touko, is it? Let me hear your Pokémon's voice again!" And N reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a Poké Ball. Have I got this right? Has he just challenged me to a battle?

"That's it, N, or whatever your name is," Cheren says, his voice cold and stiff with anger. He starts to pull out his own Pokémon, but something makes me grab his sleeve. "No, wait. Let me battle."

His dark blue eyes give me a long, searching look, but Cheren withdraws his hand and slowly replaces what I assume is his Tepig. "If you're sure, Touko," he says, stepping back but keeping his eyes trained on us the whole time.

N gracefully tosses an Ultra Ball into the air, and it bursts open with a ray of blank black light, blinding me in the dusky evening. If you can be blinded by black. Whatever. A small purple cat emerges, licking its silky chest fur smugly and sneering at me in disdain.

I fumble with the power switch on my Pokédex, and the small screen lights up the night. Pointing the device at N's Pokémon, it whirs lethargically until a light pinging noise is heard.

"Purrloin, level seven," the mechanical voice of Professor Juniper proclaims. She's everywhere, I swear. "They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect."

Great, a malicious little kitten that will charm me into loving it and then rip my eyes out with its claws. I look over again, and the thing gives me a sweet look with its green eyes. Too bad I'm immune to sweet looks, thanks to Bianca.

"Sakura!" I say, and my snake Pokémon slithers out from between my legs, hissing at the little cat. N looks vaguely amused by the whole ordeal, smirking quietly at me, and something inside of me clicks into action. I'll show him that Cheren isn't the only one who can battle.

"Sakura, use Leer," I say, and she gives N's Purrloin such a demeaning look, it shudders and looks away, losing its cute ruse for a second. I guess N is giving his orders telepathically, or whatever speaking to the Pokémon entails, because the cat suddenly springs into motion.

Sharp claws shoot out of purple sheaths, and the Purrloin launches itself towards Sakura. "Dodge it!" I yell, and Sakura neatly sidesteps out of its way, leaving the devious creature to crash into the ground.

"Use Leer again," I say, and my snake shoots another look towards the Purrloin. I'm hoping to slowly chip away at the Purrloin's defence, and then take it out in one hit, but seeing as this is my first proper Trainer battle. . .

The Purrloin growls deep in its throat, and the rumbling vibration can be felt through the ground. Sakura looks taken aback, and her leafy vines recoil a little at the malice in our opponent's eyes.

"Vine Whip, please," I ask my Pokémon, and she pulls out her whips again and slashes at the Purrloin, leaving long, angry red welts rising against its fur. Slivers of grass fly off of the vines as the Purrloin weakly slashes at them, and Sakura draws back, looking mollified.

"More!" N says, the glint of battle evident in his eyes. What happened to that free the Pokémon crap? "Let me hear the voice of your Pokémon!" Yeah, definitely insane.

Without my command, Sakura bodily tackles the cat, her amber eyes burning with determination. Violet fur and vibrant green leaves fly everywhere as the two Pokémon collide, and for a moment, the dust kicked up is so strong, neither N or I can see.

A winner is soon clear, however, as the dirty silt settles and Sakura lets out her triumphant cry. "Snivyyyy!" "Come here, sweetie," I smile, and she proudly walks backs to me, holding her battle-worn face high.

"You did awesome," I say to her, and warmth glows in her eyes. "Sni, snivy," she says to me, and then reaches into my bag, pulling out an oran berry and munching on it contentedly. I coil her around my shoulders, then look back at the mysterious N.

He is staring blankly at his fallen Pokémon, which is lying on the paved road without motion, the light gone from its emerald eyes. I feel a rush of guilt flood me as I realise that this is what Sakura and I did. This is what being a Trainer entrails.

Walking silently to his Pokémon, N recalls it into its gold-barred Ultra Ball, murmuring something as he does so. Disbelief is written all over his face, and I suppose he didn't expect to lose to a seventeen-year-old girl. Stupid him.

He walks slowly over to me and halts right in front of me, maybe only a foot away. Too close for comfort. I take a step back. "I never expected Pokémon to say such things. . ." he says softly, giving me an intense, searching look.

I have to wonder what they said to rattle him this much. "That they hated me?" I take a stab. Sakura glares at this comment and nips at me with needle-sharp teeth. N shakes his head slowly, still looking stunned.

"That they wanted to be released?" Another nip on the ear, and more head-shaking from N. Getting frustrated, I snap. "Ok, what? Are you surprised that my Pokémon might actually LIKE me? That I might actually be a decent person?"

And then, of course, he nods. "Oh, so now everyone's supposed to assume that I'm a horrible monster? Thanks a lot, jackass," I snap at him, and Sakura hisses angrily in his face. N's eyes widen, and he takes a step back. Ok, maybe that was a tad harsh.

N assumes an almost regal posture, shoulders straight, chin up, and I almost laugh. Who does he think he is, one of the heroes of Unova? Flying off into the sunset with a Legendary Pokémon? Heh, NO.

"As long as Pokémon are confined to Poké Balls. . . Pokémon will never become perfect beings," he proclaims. Perfect beings? What the hell is with this guy? "No one is perfect," I shoot back. N ignores me, carrying on with his little speech.

"I have to change the world for Pokémon," he says, and now I'm starting to get a little creeped out. N's intense stare drills into me, and it's like he's staring into my very soul.

". . .because they're my friends." His voice has dropped to a pleading whisper, like he's begging me to sympathise with him. "Friends appreciate what you are, not what you do," I say, surprised that such a sage piece of wisdom has come from my mouth. That's a first.

N gives me an odd look. "I'll see you around, Touko White," he says, and then turns on his heel and starts walking away quickly, green hair waving behind him. His retreating figure slips into the gate building, and the last I see of him is one sneaker-clad foot.

What a weird guy. What with all his talk about talking to Pokémon, and hearing their voices. . . Yet, I somehow want to see him again, if only to grill him on what the hell he was talking about. . .

Cheren comes up behind me without my noticing, which is odd, because usually he can't pull _anything _on me. "Nice battle," he says. At first, I think he's being his usual sarcastic self, but then I realise that this is the softer side of Cheren, and I smile.

"Thanks." There's a quiet, comfortable silence, the kind that falls between good friends. And then me; "You were right," I say suddenly, as we're walking back to the Pokémon Centre to meet Bianca.

The full moon shines down overhead, illuminating the small town and casting long blue shadows over the rising hills. Our shoes pad on the grey concrete tiles, soft clicks echoing through the night.

"Well, I'm usually right," he smirks, and I punch his shoulder playfully. "About what?" I laugh softly, remembering today's crazy events. Ghetsis, Team Plasma, N. . .

"Those guys were all on Shroomish." Our laughter rings out across the empty square, and Sakura and Swift join in the merriment. A golden blond head pokes out of a pair of sliding doors, and a sliver of light shines silver in the darkness.

"What are you guys doing?" Bianca calls quietly, and a flock of Woobat scatter at her voice. Remembering that Bianca doesn't know what happened just makes me and Cheren laugh even harder, and Bianca sighs in exasperation.

"Seriously, guys? I thought you were better than that, waking up the whole town and all. . ." She grabs Cheren's blue coat sleeve and drags him into the Pokémon Centre. He stumbles on the threshold, and Bianca wraps her arms around him to keep him from falling.

I chuckle softly to my Pokémon as we watch, with much amusement, the scene play out in front of us. Many flushed faces and stuttered words later, they're back to their normal, irritating selves, and I'm still laughing.

"Is something funny?" Cheren says snarkily, and I bite my tongue to keep from spitting back a sarcastic reply. Instead, I brace myself for another Nurse Joy encounter.

"Good evening, and welcome to the Pokémon Centre. We restore your tired Pokémon to full health. Would you like to rest your Pokémon?" "Yes, please, I say, and she takes my Pokémon off to the healing room.

That's insane. The precise words, even the inflections on Nurse Joy's words are exactly the same as earlier today. Maybe they're robots, I consider drowsily as I make my way over to my friends.

I find a seat next to Bianca, and find Cheren giving her a detailed account of this evening. "And THEN, out of NOWHERE, this guy N challenges Touko to a battle! I mean, he didn't even ask properly!"

I tune out Cheren's gesticulate narrative and Bianca's changing facial expressions with ease, and sink instead into my thoughts. Outside, the Woobat are calling, and a soft melody with drums and a piano driftsd by.

Who was N, anyways? And why would he choose ME to talk to, out of everyone there? What did he mean, he was surprised that my Pokémon liked me?

"Miss Touko White?" calls Nurse Joy from the pristine orange counter, and I move past the trailing line to collect Sakura and Swift. "Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Pokémon to full health."

"Thanks," I say gratefully, and make to leave, but Nurse Joy stops me. "Excuse me for asking, but. . ." she starts, handing me my Pokémon. "But how long have you had these two?"

"Only since today," I reply, unsure f where this is going. Nurse Joy beams, showing perfectly straight teeth and sending her pink hair bouncing. "Incredible!" she says. "You already have a very strong bond with your Pokémon, I can tell."

Take that, N.

"Thank you," I tell her, smiling, and then I head back to where Cheren and Bianca are sitting. Cheren has finished his story now, and Bianca looks over to me with glowing green eyes.

"Was he cute?" she says, her standard question for whenever I meet a guy. "Aren't the weird ones always?" I say, trying to shrug and act casually. No go. "YOU THOUGHT HE WAS CUTE?!" Oh, Arceus help me, here we go. . . Cheren wisely disappears to rent rooms at the Pokémon Centre for us, while Bianca continues her rant.

"The one time I leave you alone, you manage to find a cute guy. And you NEVER think guys are cute! I mean, you could get any of them you wanted, and none of them are good enough or it's the thing with your dad or whatever, and now, when I'm away. . ."

I get up off of the small orange chair I've been sitting on and start walking away towards Cheren, who is waving a pass card for a room to me. Bianca, ever oblivious, is still ranting on at me as though I'm still there,

"Let's go," I say to Cheren, and he looks at me sideways. "And just ditch Bianca here?" I actually have to stop and think for a second, seriously considering going and getting her. "Nah," I say, climbing the steps to the elevator." Cheren laughs uncertainly. "Aw, come one, Cherry. You can live without seeing your girlfriend for one hour." That does it.

"She's not my girlfriend. . !" Cheren protests weakly as we step into the glass elevator. I just smirk and snatch a pass from him. "Whatever you say, Specs. You know, if it makes you feel any better, I think I'll let you share a room with her." The elevator door opens, and I sprint down the hall to my room, Cheren in mad pursuit.

Slamming the door shut, I lock it and slide down against the cool fibreglass backing. Then I start laughing, almost hysterically. "Touko!" Cheren's shouts and pants can be heard from the other side of the door as he beat on it with his fists.

I only laugh harder and sing to his mockingly through the barrier. "Nighty-night, Specs. Have fun with your girlfriend, but remember that tomorrow's gonna be a loonnngggg day!" Then I slip into bed, fully clothed, and turn out the lights,

I am out before my head touches the pillow.

* * *

**Yeah. First, I want to apologize in advance if N is OOC. I didn't want to have him be over-the-top childish and innocent, but I also didn't want to have the uber-intense, I'm gonna burn this world down N. So I tried to strike a balance and he'll develop as the story goes long, but. . . yeah. . .**

**Second, which legendary should Touko have? I'm leaning personally more towards Reshiram, but I wanna have your input :)**

**Third. Honestly, guys, is this bad? Because I don't want to write something that no one is going to enjoy. . .**

**All this adds up to. . . Review, s'il vous plait! (my french sucks)**


	4. Chapter 4

**PLEASE don't murder me. Do you know how hard it is to research everything for a good battle scene? Thank Arceus for Bulbapedia -_-**

**Disclaimer; I DON'T OWN IT. How many times?**

* * *

_**Half the population's just waiting to see me fail**_

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Tooouuuukkkooooo!" I roll over, squinting at the blurry figure in front of me... And for the second day in a row, fall out of bed.

The air leaves my lungs in gasp, and I blink rapidly, trying to clear the fuzzy dots floating in my vision. "Hey, Touko, are you awake now?" I groan, focusing on a pair of yellow shoes in front of my face.  
"Bee? What are you doing he- oh." Oh, right. I'm not at home anymore, in sleepy little Nuvema Town. I'm in Accumula Town, population thirty people, home to odd goings on involving cute guys and creepy old men.

"Oh, good!" Bianca exclaims, adjusting her ever-present green beret. "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up!" "Bianca, what time is it?" I moan, pulling myself upright with the help of a table and a small wooden dresser.

"It's already six am, Touko! C'mon, up and at 'em! We need to see Accumula Town completely." Six. Am. I will murder that girl someday. When I have more energy.

"No," I say firmly, burying my head under the crisp, sweet-smelling sheets. "Cheren's already gone ahead to Striaton City," Bianca says slyly. "He's going to get his first Gym Badge."

"He's going to get his WHAT?" I yell, fully awake. I start furiously rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as Bianca repeats herself, somewhat unnecessarily. "His first Gym Badge. The Trio Badge."

"Aw, Arceus, no!" I say, hastily running around grabbing at articles of clothing. Pokéball cap, tank top, vest, shorts, Snivy... Snivy? "Sakura!" The grass snake looks up at me innocently. "...Ahh...!"

"What's wrong?" asks Bianca. "And why do you wake up when I say Cheren?" A hint of jealousy is detectable in her voice, and I try to amend things while re-packing my gear.

"I don't wake up when you say Cheren, I wake up when you say Gym Badge, because Cheren and I were having a little competition to see who could get all the badges first and now he's ahead of me!"

"Here are your potions, by the way." "Thanks," I say, stuffing them into my medicine pocket. Organisation. A lovely thing, that. Too bad I don't have any organisational skills whatsoever.

"Bee, I'm going to grab a shower, okay?" I say while pulling back the Panpour shower curtain, already running the hot water and trying not to scald myself. "Okay," she calls back. A pause. "So, why are you and Cheren doing this little contest?"

Trying to spit soap bubbles out of my mouth, I yell back my answer. "Remember when Cheren said that girls can't battle?" "Yeah," Bianca says. "That was the thing that got you really pissed off at him, right? When you wouldn't talk to him for a week?"

Yeah. When Cheren, Bianca and I were in eighth grade, Cheren decided to be completely sexist and say that girls couldn't battle properly or be Trainers because they were too soft.  
So I, being the tomboy that I was and still am, told him that girls could so fight, and watch me, I'd be better than him someday. And from then on, it was on. Anything that he did, I had to do better. Marks, Pokémon, athletics... Everything was a competition.

Especially Pokémon. And I had to beat him in everything. Everyone knew it was a friendly rivalry, but on the topic of Pokémon battling, it's still touchy.

"Yeah, that one," I say, rinsing peach-scented shampoo out of my long brown hair. "And then the whole battling thing..." Bianca trails off, knowing that I don't like to talk about it.

"I still have something to prove, you know," I tell her, dead serious. The running water of my shower punctuates the loaded silence, until Bianca tentatively breaks it.

"You're actually a better battler than him, you know." Since when has Bianca seen me battle? Oh, right, with the extremely hot, but insane, guy yesterday, outside the Pokémon Centre.  
"Nah. Cheren's been studying this stuff since he was three or something, Bee. I'm a newbie at this." I can hear Bianca's annoyed huff clear across our little suite.

"But that's the thing! He thinks things over too much. You just act on instinct. There's a reason your name means The Fighter, Touko." The Fighter. No one's called me that in a long time.

I run my slender fingers through my peachy conditioner-slick hair, before rinsing the lotion out. Bianca takes my silence as anger, and quickly backpedals.

"Sorry, sorry! I won't bring that up again if you don't want me to, I just..." "It's fine, Bee," I mumble, though I'm not sure if she hears me as I creak the faucet off.

Stepping out over the lip of the bathtub, I grab a fluffy white towel and wrap it around myself, ignoring my hair dripping cold water down my back. "S'okay," I repeat, louder this time.  
I turn around, drying my hair with another towel, and evaluate myself in the fogged-up mirror hanging on the wall of the bathroom. Huh.

Touko White, the Fighter. Slightly wavy chocolate brown hair down to my waist. Large, sea blue eyes and long eyelashes. Plump strawberry lips and straight white teeth.

I think I got all the good genes in the looks department, but that's not really what I'm looking for. I don't want to be the damsel in distress. I want to be the knight, or, hell, even the dragon. I want to be DOING something.

"Hey, Touko?" Bianca calls. "You ever gonna be out of that washroom?" I sigh, grab my hairbrush, and open the door, letting the steamy air flood into the main room. Bianca gratefully flashes me a smile and shuts the door. Seconds later, vanilla-scented steam wafts into the suite.

Five minutes later, I'm fully clothed, with my hair in its signature tight ponytail, and my baseball cap on my head. And I need to train. Feeling slightly guilty about what I'm going to do, I pull a piece of stationary from the Pokémon Centre's notepad (We restore your tired Pokémon to full health!) and start writing.

_Bee; I'm going on ahead. Sorry for ditching you, I owe you a day when we get to Nimbasa, okay? But I need to do this, I need to prove myself. I also need to kick Cheren's ass. I'll see you in Striaton._

I don't bother signing the note, as there's only one person who could have left it, and that would be me. Slipping my feet into my hiking boots, I drop the pass card on Bianca's rumpled bed, and then quietly slip out the door.

Running down the steps two at a time, I burst out into the seven o'clock sunlight and breathe in the delicate scent of flower pollen. An overwhelming sense of freedom fills me, and I remember my Pokémon, cooped up in their tiny Pokéballs.

"Come on out, girls," I say, kissing the release button on both capsules before tossing them into the air. Two sharp pops ensue, followed by a flash of dazzling emerald and a flash of smoky grey.

Sakura and Swift emerge, looking pleased to be outside, and certainly wide awake. "Sniii! Snivy!" Sakura whines, and Swift bobs her head in agreement.

I reach into a small section of my bag, struggling with the zipper, and pull out two berries and a Lava Cookie mom sent from home. "Share," I say, giving my two Pokémon the food, and pulling out a roll spread with cheese for myself.

With determination, we stride through the drowsy town, stopping quickly to thank the two musicians playing the town's anthem. I learn from our visit that their names are Lynn and Erik, and I make a note to drop by again.

We also visit the young girl teaching everyone the essential move type matchups. "Play Pokémon rock-paper-scissors with me?" she pleads, huge eyes begging.

I had sat there for hours with her, reviewing type matchups until my hands couldn't form rock, paper, scissors anymore. It was fun until I chose Grass-type and she yelled, "Ice!" and her Cubchoo blasted me. No one said anything about Ice.

"Not now," I say gently, stroking her light brown hair. "When I come back, okay?" "Okay!" she agrees cheerfully, and bounds off again, no doubt to wake up her father and ask him to play instead.  
Bidding goodbye to concrete tiles and tall brown apartments, Sakura, Swift and I make our way to the gate on the west side of the town. Hello, Route 2.

We've barely passed through the gate, with its upbeat drum soundtrack, when my Xtransceiver rings. A little tune rings out through the route, loud in the early morning, and Patrat dive for cover in the tall grass.

I flip open the gadget on my wrist to reveal crackling static and black and white fuzzy lines, which Sakura hisses at. The picture and sound quickly solidify to reveal my mother. My mother. Great.

"Hi, sweetie!" she beams through the phone. "How's life treating you?" "Good, mom," I say, in a hurry to get to Striaton City. "That's good," she says cheerfully, ignoring or not noticing my impatience.

"Well, I was just calling to check up on you. I'll be going now, okay? Turn around." And then she hangs up. Thanks, mom, for the waste of time. I grudgingly turn around, only to see her still beaming away.  
"Hey, mom," I say defeatedly. She comes forward, crushing me in a hug, and I sputter indignantly. "Mom, I'm kind of on a schedule here..." She pulls back, and I arrange my grimace into what I hope is a convincing smile.

"I know, sweetie," she says. "Which is why I brought you these!" She holds up a blue Pokémart bag with a flourish, and I groan. Another one of her bargains. "And this is NOT another one of my bargains!" she announces. Oh.

"What are they?" I say suspiciously. Anything my mom buys usually ends up hurting me. "Running shoes!" A black shoe box comes out of the bag, and she thrusts it towards me. "Try them on!"

The shoes aren't actually that bad. They're white hightops with pink laces and black soles, with a Pokéball design on the side. And they actually fit. "Thanks, mom," I say, more enthusiastically this time.

"No problem!" she chirps. "Now, I have to be going. I have a cake baking, you know." She embraces me again, and holds me for a long time. "Touko, sweetie, even if everyone seems to be rooting against you, you can do it!"

Then she lets me go, and starts walking down the road again, talking to her Liepard as she goes. My mom is an odd one.

Now that I have proper shoes, I realize that I can make up for lost time by running to Striaton instead of walking in my clumsy hiking boots. Untying the pink laces on my boots, I pull them off with Sakura's help and shove them in my bag.

Pulling the runners out of the black shoebox, I quickly undo the laces and jam them onto my feet, almost falling backwards as my heel finally slides in. Then I realise what an idiot I must look like, hopping around outside the gate, and I hastily stow everything back in my bag.

Flushing red, I bend down on one knee to tie my new shoes, and after struggling with a rushed knot, I turn to my right shoe... To discover the Swift is attempting to pull the lace out with her beak.

"Swift!" I say, picking up the little bird and placing her on my other side. "You just had breakfast. And that's a shoelace, not a Sewaddle or whatever you thought it was, okay?" The Pidove looks down at her black-clawed feet, ashamed.

"Sorry for snapping, yeah? But these are new, and they have to last all the way around Unova." To console her, I pull a container of Berry Juice out of my bag and toss it in the general direction of my Pokémon.

"You're gonna have to share again," I say apologetically, and my Pokémon give me blank looks. I throw my hands in the air. "I'll buy more when we get to Striaton! Just... Use grass as straws or something."  
We sit on the (slightly damp) grass for a while, enjoying the fact that we could run and catch up with Cheren and his Pokémon at any point. After all, how far away could he be?

Sakura and Swift finish their juice, and we set off again, strolling leisurely through the tall grass. On occasion a Patrat jumps out at us, but Sakura quickly dispels it with a slash of her razor-sharp vines.  
Things get interesting when we start running. I'm streaking down the trail, dirt and gravel flying beneath my feet, Sakura slithering along beside me and Swift flapping her little wings to keep up when we see him.

Our first Trainer battle. The noise of my feet slamming against the ground has made a Youngster look up from his textbook, and when he sees us, his eyes light up. "You!" he says, pointing directly at me. "I challenge you to a battle!" The kid is probably about eleven years old. Easy win? Maybe.

He pulls a Pokéball from a pocket in his baggy brown pants and throws it up into the air, as high as he can. A burst of grey light flashes out, and a Lillipup emerges, barking a battle cry. I look down at Sakura beside me, and she's smirking.

"You can take him, right?" I say to her. She gives me a look, and I yell, "Go, Sakura!" She calmly struts out onto the battlefield, cleaning her whips as she goes. "Um, Lillipup... Use Tackle!" the kid shouts, and I laugh. "Dodge it," I say, and Sakura steps sideways.

The Lillipup trips over her outstretched foot, as planned, but that's where things go sideways. "Lily, use Bite!" The Lillipup rolls over, flipping onto its side, and sinks short, sharp teeth into Sakura's tail.  
She shrieks and flails, swatting at him, but she can't reach him with her frond-like arms. Seeing how much pain she's in makes me wince, and I yell, "Vine Whip, Sakura!" My snake pulls out two vines and slashes them backwards over her shoulders, leaving angry pink welts rising on her own back, but worse damage on the Lillipup.

The puppy Pokémon howls in agony, pawing at its sensitive ears as they swell up red, splinters and shreds of leaves embedded in the skin. Barking, it runs back to its Trainer, and it whimpers behind his legs.

"Aw, Lily, come on!" The Lillipup, Lily, barks and shakes its head, tail trembling in nervousness. I point the Pokédex at it, and it pings. "Lillipup, level eight. It faces strong opponents with great courage."

I look doubtfully at the Pokémon cowering behind the Youngster. "But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees." Ah, that explains it. The Youngster sighs, and withdraws the dog, who obviously isn't going to fight.

"Go, Purrloin!" He has two Pokémon? Well, then, this'll be fun. "Can you keep going?" I ask Sakura. She snootily turns up her nose and keeps her body oriented towards the battlefield. "Okay, then, Sakura! Use Leer!"

Sakura attempts to give the kitten an intimidating look, but the cat Pokémon springs at her face, hissing and spitting. The blur of purple attaches itself to Sakura, and the combination of attacks is enough for me to withdraw her.

"You've done really well," I say, pulling out her Pokéball. "Return." Sakura's outline flashes brilliant green and shrinks, recoiling back into her Pokéball. It closes with an audible click, and I pull out another.

"Swift! Let's do this. Use Gust." Swift flaps her little wings and a whirlwind of air picks up, gathering leaves and flowers and dust into a mini tornado. She builds the wind until it's almost as tall as I am, and then seems to throw it towards the Purrloin.

The cat meows and stumbles backwards, caught off guard from the sudden buffeting wind. Small stones hit it, whirling around and around until the wind dies down again, and the Purrloin is left with a ragged, dusty purple pelt.

Swift watches in curiosity as the Purrloin staggers around in circles, dizzy, and then finally passes out, the combination of confusion and physical beating too much for it to handle.

The Youngster stares at his Pokémon in disbelief, and a flashback from last night leaves an image imprinted in my mind. N, kneeling over his Purrloin, a look of intense sadness written across his features.

Is this what I want to be doing? Do I want to fight until only one Pokémon is left standing, and the other is fainted, passed out... Even dead? The boy shakes me out of my thoughts by sticking a grubby hand in front of my face. "Jimmy," he says.

I blink, and N and Accumula Town disappear. The lush grasses and forests of Route 2 appear again, and the boy in front of me wavers into existence. "Touko," I say, shaking the hand more out of force of habit than manners.

"Are your Pokémon alright?" I ask, not wanting them to be hurt because of me... "Oh, they're fine." Seeing my face, he presses on. "Any time they fight, even if they lose, it makes them stronger. And there's a Pokémon Centre right around the corner in Accumula."

I look doubtfully at his Pokéballs, now being shoved back into the pocket from whence they came. "How are YOUR Pokémon?" he says, pulling out a container of spray-on purple liquid.  
"What's that?" I say, pointing at the container. Jimmy gives me a weird look, which quickly changes into understanding. "Newbie Trainer?" he asks, and I nod bashfully. "Yeah. Started yesterday."

A quick purple movement shows that Jimmy has thrown the container at me, no, TO me. I catch it and look at the contents dubiously as they slosh back and forth. "It's a Potion," Jimmy explains. "You spray it on your Pokémon to heal them, and different colours heal different amounts of damage." Aha.  
"Thank you," I say, a genuine smile lighting up my face. "I'll use it on Sakura, my Snivy." "There should be more lying about," he says nonchalantly. "People drop stuff here all the time."

I open the cap of the Potion and sniff it, wincing at the medicinal smell. "You spray it on," Jimmy says. "Like this." A burst of violet mist comes squirting out of the nozzle, and I watch in amazement as Sakura's damaged skin knits together again. "Sniii..."

I thank Jimmy again and set off at a sprint again, afraid that our conversation has set us back. The only time I stop is to battle a Lass named Mali and her Purrloin. We win, of course.

Eventually, though, I can't run any longer. "Pidove?" Swift asks, fluttering her wings and preening her glossy feathers. "How do you guys not break a sweat while I'm dying here?"

My Pokémon don't respond, and for a second, I think they're mad at me for some unknown reason, but the I realise that they're intently watching a patch of rustling grass.

I look over to where they're staring and see blades of grass swishing violently, my Pokémons' eyes following its every twitch. "Let's take it by surprise," I murmur, taking careful steps towards the mystery Pokémon.

"Sakura..." I start. She already knows what to do, and shoots out long vines, cutting away the grass and revealing... A little pink Pokémon eating a berry?

Swift immediately swoops down, a blur of grey and black, and gulps the berry straight out of the Pokémon's paw. "Audinooooo!" it cries, and I assume that's what its name is; Audino.  
"Sakura, use Vine Whip!" I cry, covering my face with my arms as grass shavings fly everywhere. The Audino cries out angrily and slams a heavy fist into Sakura with what I can only assume is Pound. "Again!" I yell, sensing that the Audino is weakening.

Another rope of grass slams around into the Audino's side, knocking it backwards and onto its fluffy white tail. Quickly, I throw a ready Pokéball, and watch as it rocks three times. Crossing my fingers, I hope for a "click." Three stars float slowly skywards, signifying that I now own three Pokémon.  
"We did it, girls!" I yell, raising a hand for high-fives. Sakura sniffs and looks away, while Swift tilts her head to one side and gives me a scrutinising yellow look. "You hit it," I say, nodding my head towards my hand.

A bunch of crinkling green leaves hits my hand, leaving small cuts leaking crimson liquid. I look at my bleeding hand in astonishment as Sakura lowers her tail, looking stunned. "On second thought," I say, "no high fives."

I decide to release the newest member of our party so that everyone can become acquainted with each other. Pressing the capsule to my lips in my customary fashion, I throw it into the air.  
"Audinoooo!" The little pink and white creature's large ears perk up, and it hugs me. Surprisingly, it looks healthy. I point the Pokédex at it. Another loud ping echoes through the undergrowth, sending Lillipup scuttling away. I need to adjust the volume on this thing.

"Audino, level seven. Hearing Pokémon. It touches others with its feelers on its ears, using the sound of their heartbeats to tell how they are feeling." "Hi, Audino," I say, cautiously unwrapping its arms from around me.

"I'm Touko, and this is Sakura and Swift. Do you mind if I give you a name?" The Audino's fluffy tail starts to wag, as a Herdier's might. "Ok, how about... Ella?" The Audino breaks into a wide smile, and her blue eyes sparkle happily. "Right. Ella, meet the team!"

We wind towards Striaton City, Ella, Sakura, and Swift making introductions on the way. We quickly beat Youngster Roland and his abundance of Patrat, and he gives us a whispered tip as we pass;  
"Up the hill behind me is a Potion and a Pokéball." Sure enough, we bound up the rough steps to find the two promised items as well as an amazing view.

Standing on the rise, the mid-afternoon sun seems brighter, and I have to squint to make out anything. The peaks of three building stand out especially, one of which is orange. That one I know is a Pokémon Centre, but what are the other two?

One of them has to be the Gym, but all I see is what looks like a school and a restaurant... And off to the right is what looks like an abandoned construction site. What a weird city. That makes me even more excited to reach it before Cheren.

"Come on, girls. We have a city to reach!" "Auuudino!" cries Ella, then she, Sakura, and Swift start to race down the stairs. I tighten my ponytail under my cap, glance towards the awaiting city, and stumble down the steps after them.

Sprinting through the forest doesn't seem so tiring when there's an adventure ahead, and before we know it, we're standing at the entrance of Striaton City. The ornately tiled streets gleam in the sun, and beckon for me to step on them...

Just as I'm about to enter my first city, I hear a shout behind me. "Touko! (Pant, pant) Wait... (pant) for me! (pant, pant)" Bianca, of course.

Staggering in her yellow flats, trying to run quickly in her tight white skirt, Bianca stumbles into my vision, clutching her green fringed bag. "Touko, I want to battle you and your Pokémon, to see if we've gotten any better!"

I suppose battling Bianca would be good practice for taking on the Gym in Striaton. "Sure, Bee. Why not?" I say, pulling out Ella's Pokéball. "Great!" she beams. "I've gotten way stronger, I promise!"  
With that, Bianca reaches into her purse and tries to pull out what I assume is a Pokéball. However, her hand gets stuck with the zipper, and after three hard tugs, she finally pulls it free, staggering sideways as she does.

"Graceful, Bee," I say sarcastically, and she shrugs it off. "You won't be laughing when I beat you!" she exclaims, sending out a level six Lillipup. Level six. My Pokémon are all level eight or above, thanks to the level-grinding we've been doing on this route.

"Let's go, Ella!" I shout, and she walks out from behind me, smiling peacefully. "THAT'S your Pokémon?" Bianca says. "It looks like it couldn't hurt a fly!" In response, I simply say, "Pound," and Ella slams a white-furred paw into the Lillipup's side.

It flies backwards, Ella being much bigger than it is, with a yelp, but then rushes back around to hit Ella in the foot with Bianca's command of, "Tackle, Poochy!" Poochy, Bianca? Really?

Ella seems unfazed by the attack, and looks at me for directions. "Pound it again, Ella," I say, and she sits down on the Lillipup, squishing it into submission.

"Aw, Touko! You can't sit on your enemy to win," Bianca pouts, red lips quivering. "You didn't specify," I shoot back, and she giggles. "Was I supposed to? Okay then, in future battles, no more sitting on Pokémon!"

"Who said anything about future battles?" I say. "I'm going to decimate you now so completely you'll be scared to beat me!" Bianca snorts. "In your dreams," she says, withdrawing her Lillipup and sending out Rayne, the Oshawott.

"Oh, back to basics, are we?" I say, and I withdraw Ella, slipping her a Sitrus Berry to nibble on. "Well, in that case..." The girl in Accumula Town taught me a few very important things about type matchups.  
One of them is that water is weak to grass. And Oshawott is water. And Snivy is grass. "Go, Sakura!" I shout, flicking her capsule lightly into the air. The red and white halves flip seamlessly end over end, a hypnotizing display of colour...

Until a flash of emerald lights up the sky, and a small grass snake Pokémon arcs down towards the earth again. I suddenly have a crazy, insane, genius idea.

"Sakura!" I yell, knowing that at the moment that she has a higher level of speed than Rayne. "Use Vine Whip as you're coming down to pin Rayne to the ground!"

She instantly obeys, not spending time to debate whether I'm insane or not, a fact that I'm eternally grateful for. Long ribbons of green whip out and around Rayne, wrapping around him and pinning him flat to the ground.

"W-water Gun!" Bianca cries to her Oshawott, biting her lower lip in concentration. A jet of water spurts out of the otter's mouth and hits Sakura mid-descent, knocking her from the sky.

She slams into the ground and moans in pain, but gets back up quickly despite the dark brown bruises forming on her leafy body. "Tackle it while it's down!" I yell, and Sakura slams into the Oshawott, knocking it almost unconscious.

"Tackle it," Bianca says quietly, but Rayne is still pinned down by the vines now snaking into the ground. "Vine Whip, Sakura," I say softly, knowing that one of us has to lose this fight, and it's not going to be me.

I want to look away, to hide myself from the damage I've ordered to be inflicted on the small blue creature in front of me, but I can't. My eyes are riveted in place, watching the attack of my Pokémon, watching the light leave Rayne's black eyes like it left N's Purrloin's.

When I come back into focus, Sakura is wearing a smug little smile as she tends to her injuries, gently prodding bruises and cuts. "Can you hold on until we get to the Pokémon Centre, or do you want to be healed now?" I ask.

She gives me that proud, haughty look again, and I sigh. "Waiting then. Okay." I look back to Bianca, and she's returned her Pokémon to their Pokéballs and is looking at me with an expression akin to awe.  
"What?" I say. "Wow..." she says, still staring at me with wide jade-green eyes. "You're really strong, Touko." A small ember of pride ignites inside of me, and for once, I feel like I can beat Cheren.

"Thanks, Bee," I say, giving her a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "You did awesome too. And I was kind of at an advantage, because I have three Pokémon, and you had two..." "Touko, shut up."  
"What did you just say to me?" "Shut up," Bianca repeats. Mild, sweet, kind Bianca...! "You're a better battler than I am, I've known that since day one, which was yesterday. So don't make excuses for your wins. Be proud of them."

I gape at her, my mouth flapping open and closed like a Basculin. "That was possibly the most profound thing that has ever come out of your mouth," I say bluntly.

She giggles, back to ditzy blond again. "Aww, thanks, Touko! Well, I'll see you around. I'm going to go train some more on Route 2. Next time we meet, I'm going to beat you!" she calls, waving frantically over her shoulder, blond hair bouncing cheerily.

I chuckle. "You wish, Bee!" I yell back, waving back in a slightly more controlled fashion. I scoop Sakura into my arms and slip Ella and Swifts' Pokéballs into my bag.

Breathing in deeply, I hold my chin up high and walk confidently into Striaton City, Sakura loudly announcing our arrival as we come.

* * *

**I actually have nothing to say... Review? Please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Is anyone even reading this? Because I feel like this is a waste of time.**

**Disclaimer; ...  
**

* * *

_Yeah right, you're better off trying to freeze hell_

My first day in Striaton City is a huge disappointment. As soon as I step into the city, the scent of flowers disappears and is replaced with a sharp, metallic scent that fills my nose and makes me sneeze.

Ella pops out of her Poké Ball curiously and makes a face when she smells the city air. "Smells weird, right?" I say to her, crinkling my face up in an attempt to avoid the smell. "Dii," she agrees, scrunching her nose in imitation of me.

We walk through the streets, weaving in between brick apartments and admiring ourselves in the shining stone tiles lining the roads. Swift flutters along beside me, sometimes resting on my shoulder and sometimes flying jerkily beside me.

At some point (I'm not exactly sure when), Sakura and Ella start a funny face competition, and small outbursts of their laughter sound from behind me every few minutes.

I look back, and there's Ella with her paw pressed against her nose making a pig face. Sakura has her mouth wide open in silent laughter, amber eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Ella sees me staring, wide-eyed, at their game, and quickly drops her paw to her side and gapes at me guiltily. "Audinoooo," she trills nervously. I laugh, seeing how Ella is so cautious. "I'm not going to punish you for having fun," I say, and she smiles and turns back to Sakura, resuming her previous position.

"It's good that you're nice to your Pokémon," says an unknown voice from behind me, and I whirl around. Being in a narrow street, acting like a naïve little girl, is not a good thing to do in a city.

A beige apartment door shuts, and a young woman emerges, wearing a long white lab coat. Hers is stained various colours in multiple places, unlike Professor Juniper's, and I like her instantly.

Call it stupidity, but I know when I have a gut feeling about someone. The asian woman smiles shyly, tucking a long strand of black-blue hair behind her ear. "My name is Fennel," she says softly. "I'm a friend of the Professor's, from college."

Professor Juniper. Her name seems to crop up everywhere. And even though I'm not too fond of her myself, it doesn't give me a reason to dislike everyone who mentions her. "Touko," I say, sticking out a hand.

"I know already," she laughs gently, shaking my hand. "Your Professor Juniper has told me all about you." That can't be good. "You're challenging the Gym?"

"Yeah," I say awkwardly. "My friend Cheren and I have this little competition going, for who can get all the badges first..." Fennel smiles, and leans in to me, as though to share a secret.

"Personally..." she starts, whispering. "I have this feeling you're going to win." She grins again, and I get the feeling she's a fairly carefree person. "After you beat the Gym," she continues, not a trace of doubt in her voice, "could you come see me?"

"Sure," I agree. "Do you mind me asking why?" Fennel shrugs. "Experiment," she says simply, and I groan. "You scientists..." She starts to laugh, the ghost of a smile forming on her lips, when she's cut off by a loud bang and blue smoke pouring out of the upstairs window.

"Amanita!" she shrieks, and turns to me. "Sorry, but I kind of have to go now..." She gestures at the billowing cloud rolling down the side of the building, and my eyes widen. What in Unova...? "That's fine..." I mumble, and Fennel shoots me one last glance.

"Visit me after," she calls, and then the beige door slams shut, shaking the red brick building. My Pokémon and I stand in shock for a moment, and we hear pounding footsteps, and snippets of a conversation.

"I TOLD you not to mix the hydrochloric acid... Amoongus powder!" Obviously Fennel's voice. And then a younger girl's voice, who I'm assuming is Amanita; "No, you said FOONGUS powder! You didn't say anything about Amoongus... Explosion... Radiation!"

Sakura and I shoot each other a look and take off running down the street, dashing around garbage cans and trying to avoid pedestrians. "Radiation...!" I gasp, clutching my chest to stop my hammering heart. "What the hell...!"

These city folk are insane. First freaky robe people- sorry, Team Plasma, then hydro-whatever radiation... What's next, the Gym's shut down?

Turns out I should learn to stop tempting fate and just keep my fat mouth closed. A man in a black suit, black dress shoes, black sunglasses, and black hair stands solidly in front of the Gym door, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

"The Gym's closed, little miss," he says when he sees me approaching holding Sakura. "Our Gym Leaders are off gallivanting somewhere, as usual. Rumour has it they're in the Trainer's School. You can battle them when they're back."

Shaking off the title (little miss!), I turn left and head toward the towering building past the Pokémon Centre that I'm guessing is the Trainer's School. I open the door to step inside, and instantly recoil backwards.

The odor of sweaty little kids, pencil shavings, and too-old lunches assails my nose, and brings back memories. Not good ones. Memories of me being teased because I was a girl, and therefore couldn't be a good Trainer.

Elementary school and middle school were not good years for me, and I'd prefer never to revisit them. I push past the throngs of children, trying to be gentle (ish), until I get to the blackboard.

A boy with black hair and a permanent cowlick stands frowning, staring at the basic terms written in dusty yellow chalk. I snort in disbelief. Poison? Parlyz Heal? Even I know what those are, and Cheren certainly does.

"Hey, Specs," I say, casually throwing Sakura's Poké Ball from hand to hand. "Still a nerd, as usual." Cheren turns to me, still scowling. "Touko, I am not a nerd. I am an unusually gifted student." Long, fancy words don't impress me with Cheren anymore.

"Besides," he continues. "If this is Nerd Central, why are YOU here?" Fair point. "Looking for the Gym Leader," I shrug, and Cheren groans, pushing back his glasses. "Seriously? Are you blind or something?"

"Says the boy wearing inch-thick glasses," I mutter, but apparently Cheren's deaf as well as blind. "The three Gym Leaders were here a minute ago. They just left, didn't you see them?"

I shake my head no, absentmindedly reading the neat print on the board. An antidote cures the poisoned condition. Huh. "You're hopeless," Cheren mutters to himself, but then perks up.

"Touko, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" he announces, and I give him a look. "In HERE? I'm gonna hit some little kid with one of my attacks!" I probably will, too. The little kids nervously scuttle out of the way, hiding behind their desks and chairs.

"It's not like you can refuse," Cheren says pointedly, and I groan. "Fine," I say, pulling out Swift's Poké Ball instead of Sakura's, knowing that Cheren will probably send out Majesty.

The matchup girl in Accumula Town has her basic type matchups that she rattles off to strangers, but if you ask, she actually knows every matchup there is. Like the fact that Flying beats Fire.

"Go, Majesty!" he yells, and I smirk. "Swift!" I call, and the familiar blinding grey light flashes above me. "Piiidove!" she squawks, and immediately dives down into an airborne tackle.

Now, Tepig may have excellent attack stats, but they have nothing in the way of defense. They also have no speed, the fat little things, so they're horrible at dodging, say, flying birds that are dive-bombing them.

So it's only a matter of seconds before Majesty is down for the count, and Cheren has to recall him back to his capsule. "That was... Unexpected," he admits, grudgingly. It makes me even more determined to beat him.

"Willow!" he yells, and sends out his little purple Purrloin. Battling N, I already know how these things operate; quickly and quietly, so I stay wary. "Willow, like Pussy Willow?" I ask Cheren, hoping to distract him from the battle.

"Yeah," he says, and there's a flash of astonishment in his navy eyes. Thanks, Cheren. I'm not THAT stupid, to get a simple plant reference. Behind my back, I wiggle three fingers at Sakura. Use your third attack.

"Thought I wouldn't get that, didn't you?" I ask, faking a rueful tone."Well, not really, actually," he says, glancing up at me for a split second, his attention diverted for the moment I need. That's when Sakura strikes.

Two slender vines slip out from their sheaths and slice through the air, a subtle hissing noise whizzing behind them. They're moving so fast, the Purrloin doesn't know what hit it until it's out cold on the dirty school floor.

Cheren stares in astonishment at his second fallen comrade, and slowly recalls it, numb with shock. "You got lucky," he eventually says, but his tone is cold, unlike my childhood friend Cheren, who was always uptight, but never unfriendly.

"Next time, I'll win for sure." And then he marches out of the school, back straight, chin held high in defiance. What on earth has come over him? He never used to be like this. I shrug, brushing it off, and return my Pokémon.

A niggling feeling of doubt plants itself in the back of my mind, though, and I have this feeling that it's not going anywhere anytime soon. What's wrong with him?

I'm so preoccupied with my thoughts, I don't notice a young boy come up behind me. And that's also why I jump out of my skin in shock when he taps me on the shoulder, grinning, and brandishes a bottle in front of my face.

"Hi, miss!" he yells, his bespectacled face peering curiously at me. I stumble backwards, clutching at my ringing ears, and quickly grab at a desk to keep myself from toppling to the floor.

"Hi," I say weakly, regaining my footing shakily. The boy shakes his bottle vigorously in my face, its yellow contents sloshing madly around inside the plastic. "Look what I have!" he giggles. "That's nice," I say warily. "What is it?"

"It's a Full Heal, of course!" the kid exclaims. "It heals every status condition there is! And if you answer the questions on my test correctly, I'll give it to you. Wanna try?"

I remember Cheren telling me that you can't get Full Heals from a store before you beat a certain number of Gyms, and figure that a little kid's test can't be all that hard. "Sure," I say, hoping that I can recall all the right information.

"Ok! First question..." he says excitedly, hopping up and down on one foot. "What is the item that cures the Paralyzed status condition?" I smirk internally, thinking that this is an easy question. The answer is right in the name, for Arceus's sake.

"Parlyz Heal," I say confidently, and the boy's smile grows. "Ding-ding-ding!" he whoops happily. "You are correct! Next question..." No one ever said there was more than one question!

"What is an Ability that can Poison a Pokémon upon direct contact?" Excuse me? What are Abilities...? "Um..." I scramble for an answer, and with relief, I remember a fact from one of my favourite television shows, the Waving Weaving Walk, or Wawalk, for short.

"Effect Spore?" I guess, remembering what I overheard Fennel and Amanita arguing over earlier. "Or Poison Point," I add, hoping for a correct answer. There's a short silence, and then; "Wow."

"What?" I say defensively. I was probably wrong again, knowing me. "Barely anyone ever gets that one right." Or that. The kid bounces up again cheerily, thrusting the aerosol canister at me. "Here you go!"

"Thanks," I say, slipping it into a pocket in my bag. It's probably the wrong pocket, but I'll sort my bag later tonight and put everything in the right place. "You know, miss..." the schoolboy starts, trailing off and looking at me expectantly.

"Yes?" "You're a strong Trainer already, I can tell," he says, a brief look of awe flashing across his childish features. "Thank you," I murmur, and a smile crosses my face as I turn and walk away quietly, out of the noisy Trainer's School.

My feet take me where they will, and there's really nothing I can do to stop them. So in no time at all, I find myself staring up at an ornately detailed restaurant, presumably the Gym. A guy about my age is standing in front of the doors, but I'm more interested in the building itself for now.

Delicate gold leaf lines the gutters, and a rich azure blue gleams subtly above the grandeur. An emblem of silver cutlery shimmers on the door, and a sweeping red canopy soars overhead.

I step up to the door, and the guy turns a friendly gaze towards me. I give him a once-over. He has green spiky hair, brighter than N's, grass-green eyes to match, and a bright green bow tie to tie (pardon the bad pun) everything together.

He's dressed as a waiter, so I assume he works here in this Gym-diner hybrid, and so I walk over to him to ask him for advice. "Excuse me?" I say to him, my sneakers tapping softly on the ground.

"Yes?" He turns, and a Badge is instantly visible on his black vest. The sign of a Gym Leader, as everyone else in Unova keeps Badges in a badge case. My own badge case is, as of yet, empty.

"You..." I rudely gape and point at the Badge, and he gives an amused laugh. "Yes, I'm a Gym Leader of Striaton." "A Gym Leader? There's more than one?!" He simply smirks and continues. "You are...?"

"Touko White," I say, showing him my Trainer Card, as is courtesy. He grins at the lack of badges. "Right, Touko White. You'll be wanting to challenge the Gym then, am I correct?" I nod mutely. What's with people repeating my last name?

"In that case, if you don't mind my asking, what was the first Pokémon you chose?" "Snivy," I say, tossing her Poké Ball up into the air. "But I call her Sakura," I add, as my Pokémon gives me an odd look. "You- I mean, she's cute," says the Striaton Gym Leader, and he blushes red and looks away.

I realize with a start that he's really not that much older than I am, possibly the same age. "Snivy... I see..." he says, fumbling for a recovery. "It's weak against Fire-type Pokémon."

Why's he telling me this? Surely he must know that this is information every little kid in Unova knows? "I think you should prepare to face that type in a Gym battle," he says, and my eyes widen.

"Are you telling me what I'll have to battle?" I ask incredulously. That's an incredible advantage he's giving me. It's almost like he wants me to win... He grins slyly and says,"I'll be waiting for you inside." Then he flashes me a quick wink, and he and his not-as-green-as-N's-hair slip inside.

I turn to Sakura. The first thing out of my mouth is, "We need to train." A blond lady walks over to us. "Did I hear you say you were going to take on the Gym?" she asks, while pulling a mirror out of her plush pink purse.

"Well, yeah," I say awkwardly, not realizing we had been talking so loudly. "If I were you, sweetie, I'd go train in the Dreamyard. Bit creepy, but good Trainers to battle. Plus, I heard some girl was giving away Pokémon."

Another Pokémon would be a great addition to my team, and so I smile at the lady. "Thanks a bunch!" I say, and she smiles back. "No problem, love," she says, applying another coat of mascara to her long eyelashes.

We walk down the streets of Striaton City, admiring the tiles again, and this time, I notice the design on them. A trio of circles, linked by a triangle. Three and three. Suddenly, I also notice that Striaton has the word tri in it, meaning three.

One of the Gym Leaders. Prepare to face Fire... Your type is weak against it... That's when it clicks. There are three Gym Leaders. One for Fire, one for Grass, and one for Water, and I'll have to face the one I'm weak against. Now we really need to train.

We enter the Dreamyard through a shadowed gate of tree boughs, and the atmosphere instantly changes. Instead of upbeat and busy, the mood is tense and slightly unnerving, like something is watching us creep through the site.

Towering concrete walls loom above us, and grey cracks spiderweb through them, crumbling and cracking. Orange cones rest in the grassy fields, and through a rusty chain-link fence I catch a glimpse of old machinery. What is this place?

Once in a while, a Pokémon's cry can be heard, echoing and pulsating, and my Pokédex identifies it as a Musharna. Pink mist floats by occasionally, and I catch glimpses of otherworldly images through it. This place creeps me out.

Training in the Dreamyard, though, turns out to actually be entertaining. Not only did Sakura and Swift grow four levels each, but Ella gained a few levels as well, and we beat the Trainers there quickly.

Reaching the end of the shadowed path, a young girl in a plain, simple dress sits under a tree, playing with her short hair. "Hello!" she calls, her voice resonating through the eerily quiet air.

"I have these three Pokémon," she says softly, gesturing to a group of little monkey-like Pokémon playing around her. "But I can't keep them. Could you maybe take one for me?" "Why?" I ask.

I don't want to be part of something I don't know about, legal or illegal. I'm not naïve enough to never have heard of Pokémon trading, or even worse, Pokémon mills.

"Your eyes," the girl says. "You give off a sense of kindness, purity, and strength, a glowing white. You're a good person, I know, so I want to trust you. I'd found these three in Lostlorn Forest, and I've been looking for a good home for them. Will you take one?"

Eyes, Lostlorn Forest, abandoned Pokémon... "Of course," I say, and the girl breaks into a dazzling smile. "I think this one will be good for you," she says, picking up the blue monkey from its group of red and green.

"Poouuurrrr," it says, beaming at me. "He likes you," she says, also smiling. "I think you should take him. He would compliment your team nicely, especially your Snivy, and be useful against the Gym."

I reach out my arms for the Pokémon, and feel a small, warm weight settle into my arms, curling up tightly. "Panpour," he says, snuggling into my chest. "Yes," says the girl, more to herself than to me. "A good choice."

"Thank you so much," I say to her, and she shakes it off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You deserve to have such a loving Pokémon, for such a loving human." I blush, struggling with my words. The girl stands, gathering the remaining two Pokémon into her arms again.

"Well, I must be off," she says abruptly. "I need to find these two homes as well, you know. Take care of Panpour!" Panpour. So that's the little monkey's name. And without another word, she gone, swooping away on her bird Pokémon into the sky. I watch her fly away, a grey outline against the blue sky.

"Pan, panpour?" asks my newest Pokémon, and I grin. "Hey, girls, meet our latest arrival!" Ella emerges, waving to Panpour and smiling in a motherly fashion. "Auuuudino," she cooes as Panpour bats at her dangling ears.

Immediately I can see that the two have a sort of bond, like a mother and child. The little water monkey is very young, and Ella makes an excellent mother figure for him, even more than I do. Ella plucks him out of my arms and cradles him in her own. "Dii, audino."

Swift cocks her head to one side curiously, and eventually takes a step closer to Panpour. I assume that means that she's willing to tolerate him, as long as he doesn't pull her feathers.

My grass snake, on the other hand, is making sure that Panpour knows that she's the one in charge here, hissing and fanning out her tail. "Ssssni!" she says, glaring at him with angry amber eyes. "Pooour," he squeaks, curling in on himself, intimidated.

Then Sakura suddenly flips into friendly, now that her position has been established. "Snivy," she says, holding out a frond to shake. "Panpour," says the monkey hesitantly, and he shakes her hand with a cream-furred paw of his own.

"You need a name, little guy," I say to him, reaching out my arms. Ella reluctantly hands him over, and my bare arms immediately warm up from his body heat. "How about Tsunami?" "Tsu.. Nami?" he asks, trying out the name.

"Tsunami," he nods affirmatively. "Tsunami it is," I say, and turn to face my team. "Sakura, Ella, Swift, this is Tsunami. Be nice to him." A happy squawk, a rustle of leaves, and a gentle coo meet my words. "All good then," I say.

I pluck a Poké Ball from my bag. "Tsunami, if you want to come with us, I'm gonna have to put you in a Poké Ball. Is that okay with you?" He responds by pressing the white button on the front of the capsule himself, and vanishing into the container.

"And so we go," I whisper to myself. "Come on, girls and guy! We need to beat that Gym before Cheren!" A cacophony of animalistic cheers agree with me loudly, and we set off back towards Striaton City, marching single file as we go.

My name is Touko White, the Fighter. And I'm going to show all of Unova that I can and will live up to that name.

Well, at least Striaton City.

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**At this point, I'm not really expecting reviews... this may be discontinued. I dunno.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys. I'm back. I bet some of you are surprised. Thanks to the lovely people who reviewed and told me quite firmly that I was NOT discontinuing the story, here's the next chapter!**_  
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**Now, I know the lyrics don't always quite match the story. Ok. If you guys want them out, they shalt be out. Your guys' choice.  
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**Without further ado, this is Touko's first Gym Battle!  
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**Disclaimer; Don't oownnnnnn iiitttttttttt -_-  
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_Some of us do this for the females_

A restaurant. Of all the things the Striaton City gym could have been, they decided to make it a restaurant. Sure, it's entertainment for regular diners, but for a challenger, it's completely different. It's nerve-wracking, having all those eyes on you while you eke it out in an intense battle.

At least, that's what I thought at nine am this morning when I first arrived. Too jittery to have eaten breakfast, I had stared disdainfully at the people cramming their mouths full of pastries and fruit.

Now, however, at three in the afternoon, I'm still midway to the front of the line of challengers, and I'm getting hungry. Sakura pokes me with her snout, bumping my leg gently. "Snii?" I stroke her green head and sigh softly.

"I know, I know. I'll get food for us soon, okay?" I can't let my Pokémon battle on an empty stomach, and I don't know if I can go much longer without food, either. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and cross my fingers.

Please, Arceus, if you can help in any way...

"Excuse me, mademoiselle?" I open my eyes to see a sleek black vest, tie, and shoes, neatly slicked brown hair, and a crisp white dress shirt. "Would you care for an hor d'ouvere?" Thank Arceus.

"Thank you so much," I smile, taking a crisp salad off of the shining silver tray. He bows quickly, head bobbing and tray dipping ever so slightly, and then heads off down the line of challengers, offering delicacies to other hopeful trainers.

"Well, team," I say. "There is an Arceus." The salad is quickly demolished, Sakura picking the decorative flowers off of the top, and Ella nibbling on small microgreens. Swift swoops up and down, snatching the occasional walnut, and Tsunami shows his sweet tooth by picking all of the chunks of pear out and eating them.

By the time my Pokémon are through with my salad, pretty much all I get is balsamic dressing, crumbled cheese, and the lettuce. I eat it quickly, trying to slow down and savour the food, but it's so delicious, I just can't help myself.

I set the fork down onto the black ceramic plate with an audible clatter, and a sigh of satisfaction. Seconds later, the same waiter comes by to collect my empty, almost licked-clean plate.

"I trust our nourishment was fulfilling?" he enquires politely. "It was amazing," I reply, beaming widely, feeling incredibly recharged and energetic. Low blood sugar doesn't sit well with me.

"That's good," he smiles, glancing down at his clipboard. "Because, Miss Touko White, I believe you are up next to battle our leaders." I glance in front of me, expecting to see a long line, but all that meets the eye is a red curtain.

When I turn back to the waiter, he's gone again, strolling casually down the line and informing people how long their gym challenge will take to arrive. I set my jaw determinedly and step forward...

Only to be stopped by a middle-aged guy with graying hair and black shades, leaning casually against a grey stone pillar. He grins widely at me and launches into a speech, not unlike one of the many Nurse Joys.

"Hello! I'm Clyde," he says jovially, reaching out a hand for me to shake. I grasp it and give an affirmative shake, smiling. I like this guy already.

"I'm the guide for all of you Trainers who challenge any of the Pokémon Gyms here in lovely Unova. We appreciate your efforts."

It's not the rehearsed speech that makes me laugh so much as Clyde's expression as he talks. It makes me feel as though he's sharing an inside joke, but I'm not quite sure which joke it is.

"Here," he says, reaching behind him and tossing me a clear container. It soars through the air, light from the chandeliers refracting in shining bursts. "Take this to commemorate the occasion."

When I look at it confusedly, he grins again. "Fresh water," he says in a conspiratorial stage whisper. "Heals a Pokémon by fifty points." I open my mouth to thank him, but he rolls on. "Sorry, kid. I'm on a schedule," he says apologetically.

"One basic element of Pokémon battles is the relationship between types. If you choose Pokémon with effective types and effective moves, victory is just a step away! That's what this Gym is based on; knowledge of type matchups."

Looks like my video game debuts with Cheren are going to come in handy.

"In this Gym, you proceed by stepping on the switch with the type that is effective against the Pokémon type shown on the curtain," he continues, gesturing at the gleaming wooden floor.

Three shining insets glow softly against the brown planks, in the shape of three circles. One is blue, one is red, and one is green. Water, fire, and grass, I'm assuming.

"Now, we gotta roll," he says. "Best of luck to you, champ!" Clyde gives me a sharp salute while grinning the whole time, and I smile widely and salute back. Then, I take my first step into a proper Pokémon Gym.

Now that I'm close up, I can see that the aforementioned red curtain has a golden flame embellished on it. I look down, and recall the matchup girl's voice.

Water beats fire, so you win. I walk to the right, look down at the glowing blue button, and promptly step on it. Not surprisingly, the curtain swiftly swings open, revealing yet another room.

I take a step forward, reveling in my small success, and laugh to myself under my breath. This is too easy, for a Gym. Even if it IS the first Gym, this isn't a challenge at all.

Remember what I said earlier about having to keep my fat mouth shut? I second that now.

A waiter, similarly dressed to the guy who served me in the line steps towards me, smirking. A Trainer in a Gym. Of course. And now that I've made eye contact with him, I need to battle him, as courtesy dictates.

"I am Waiter Maxwell," he announces grandly. "Would you care for a taste of battle?" Taste, restaurant, very funny. He lifts the lid on his silver platter and out rolls a Poké Ball, which pops open to reveal a Lillipup.

Level eleven. That should be easy enough, seeing as Sakura is at level sixteen, on the verge of leveling up again. All the level-grinding we did in the Dreamyard has certainly paid off.

All of my other Pokémon, with the exception of Tsunami, are at the same status, elevated higher than one would expect so early in a journey. It'll show everyone that I'm serious about this, is all.

"Sakura!" I call, releasing the little Pokémon from her capsule. "Vine whip!" Right away, she pulls out two tendrils and slashes at the dog violently with them. A Lillipup isn't worth trying out our new move. Not yet.

The Lillipup dashes around, yapping and trying to find an opening to snap its jaws, and I smirk. Sakura is leaping around nimbly, always a hairs-breadth out of reach of the Lillipup's stubby paws.

After both of our teams have landed a few good hits, something unexpected happens. Out of moves, the Lillipup stops, cocks its head at its owner, and then looks back at us.

Then it proceeds to flail around aimlessly, hurting itself more than us, and eventually fainting from the effort. That was exceedingly odd. The waiter recalls his Pokémon regretfully and bows, gesturing for me to move on.

I read from my Pokédex (I turned her voice off!) as I walk that it was using Struggle, a move available to all Pokémon, but only when all its other moves have been expended. The move hurts the user a quarter of its maximum health each use.

Ouch. Shelving the Pokédex, I glance back up to get my bearings. The red curtain has been replaced in favour of a blue one, and instead of a flame it has a silver water drop on it, rippling gently in an unknown breeze.

I glance down. Sure enough, there are the three buttons, glowing patiently in the maple floor. Looking around cautiously to see if anyone's looking, I grin and jump on the green button.

It lights up with a slight delay, and I feel a little bit guilty. Maybe those weren't meant to be jumped on. But whatever happened, the cobalt curtain still swishes aside, and I take another step forward. Is it just me, or are the furnishings getting richer as the Gym progresses?

Of course, I don't get time to ponder that as a yellow-dressed girl walks up to me, white headdress on perfectly straight. "Hi!" she beams. "I'm Waitress Tia! Your entrée is our Striaton specialty; Trainer de Luxe, as ordered!" And we plunge into battle.

When the girl sends out a Patrat, I almost laugh. Checking its level, I actually DO laugh. It's a level ten. Aren't the trainers supposed to get harder as we go into the Gym?

"Go, Tsunami!" I say, and he pops out in a shower of bubbles. If Tsunami's going to be one of the star players in the Leader battle, I want to level him up as much as possible now. He's sitting at a healthy eleven right now, thanks to level-grinding, but we'll see how we do.

"Um... Use Bide!" Tia yells, and I smirk. Bide will make sure that the Patrat can't move for two turns while it stores up energy to attack, giving us an easy opening. Tsunami easily knocks it out within two turns, and we never take a whit of damage.

"High-five!" I say gleefully, holding out my palm, and a cream-furred paw slaps mine happily. So much for no high-fives. I turn to Sakura. "THAT, my dear, is a high five. For future reference." Then I turn back to the battle.

Tia has sent out a Purrloin, and I groan. Honestly, even with my limited knowledge, I'm pretty sure there are more than three Pokémon in the Unova region. So why, for Arceus's sake, does everyone keep sending out Lillipup, Patrat, and Purrloin?

Tsunami picks up on my irritation and promptly knocks out the Purrloin as well without my having to say a word. That's me, psychic Pokémon whisperer. Not. That's N's job, if he's telling the truth.

We finish the battle successfully, and if I stretch onto the tips of my lace-up sneakers, I can see the three Gym Leaders behind this final curtain. I crouch down, rummaging through my bag for items.

"Potion for Tsunami," I say, pulling out a canister of purple medicine and handing it to Ella to administer to him. "Sitrus berry for Sakura," I say, tossing a lumpy yellow berry to her. "And magost berries for Ella and Swift, because I love you so much."

They munch their treats quickly, and when everyone's glowing with health and ready to go, I walk towards the last curtain. A bronze leaf flutters against a viridian green background, and I grin.

"Ready or not, here we come," I say, and step on the blazing red fire switch. The curtain opens silently and gracefully, and we're in. This is it.

Three guys, one of them who I saw outside, and all about my age, stand on a raised plateau above a plushy red carpet. The decor is definitely getting nicer. I climb the stairs to the stage, spotlights dancing and knees slightly shaking, though I'll never admit it.

When I reach the top, I survey first the view. Three sections that I passed through, with glowing switches. Waiters and waitresses bustling around with platters and dishes. And the huge, staring crowd.

Then I give the Gym Leaders a once-over. The one who talked to me outside with the spiky not-as-green-as-N's hair and emerald eyes. One with elegantly swooping dark blue hair and intense sapphire eyes. And one who looks slightly crazed, with red hair standing straight up and burning ruby eyes.

The green guy steps forward. "So nice to see you again. Welcome to our pride and joy, the Striaton City Pokémon Gym!" He steps back again, and the insane-looking one rotates to take his place.

"I'm Chili! I like the smoldering Fire-type Pokémon!" Fabulous. I get all the crazy ones, don't I? I mean, first N, now this Chili guy, even Cheren and Bianca, by extension... Mercifully, he rotates again, and the blue-haired one takes HIS place.

"I am a Water-type specialist, and my name is Cress. Delighted to make your acquaintance," he says, and reaches down to take my hand. Elegantly, he bows and kisses the back of my hand, while keeping his eyes on me. I don't want to know what colour red I am at the moment. Cress smirks.

"And my name, as you know, is Cilan!" says green guy, nudging Cress out of the way. "I like Grass-type Pokémon." No wonder he seemed so interested in Sakura earlier. "So, um, you see... As for why the three of us are, um, here, we... Um-"

Cilan totally loses his composure and starts stuttering, turning vivid red as he does so. "Oh, ENOUGH already! Listen up!" Chili pushes Cilan out of the way and grins at me, a manic flame igniting his gaze.

"The three of us," Chili gestures at the Leaders impatiently, "will decide whom you'll battle! It'll be based on the first Pokémon you chose!"

Here, Cilan blushes even deeper red as I send him a silent thank-you over Chili's head. Cress frowns slightly and gives him an odd look before stepping forward.

"That is indeed, as my numskull brother puts it, the case." I smirk. "And the partner you first chose appears to have been the Grass-type." As if on cue, Sakura re-appears on my shoulder. "Sniiiii!"

"How exceedingly lucky for you that you do not have to face me," he says smoothly, while smirking and stepping back into line. Chili jumps forward with a flourish, and I do something really immature; I face-palm.

"TA-DA!" he yells. "The Fire-type scorcher Chili -that's me!- will be your opponent!" Great. Just great. "YEOW!" he screams gleefully. This guy's a frickin' pyro! "Time to play with FIRE!"

And out he chucks a Pansear, a little red and cream fire monkey. Too bad I have a trick up my sleeve. Instead of throwing out Sakura, who is currently perched on my shoulder (her favourite spot), I fumble for Tsunami's Poké Ball.

Water beats fire, so I win.

"Out you go, sir," I say, right as Chili commands, "INCINERATE!" The glowing coals barely faze my water monkey as he squelches the fire with a well-placed puddle.

"Scratch, please," I say, and Tsunami eagerly swipes at Chili's Pokémon, missing by no more than an inch as the older Pokémon steps clumsily to the side. "Again!" I say, and this time the move hits. "Ha!" Chili snorts. "As if THAT would work on MY Pokémon!" Whatever.

Unfortunately, the move puts Tsunami at very close range, so when Chili orders another Incinerate, Tsunami barely hangs on to consciousness. However, our self-dubbed "Master Plan" is still working.

I had figured out that if I hit the Pansear with a scratch, it would still have enough health to avoid having Chili use a Potion on it. But it wouldn't have enough health to withstand a, "Water gun!"

A blast of frigid water smacks the Pansear right in the face, and it falls over sideways, fire extinguished and fainted before it hits the ground with an audible thud. I wince.

"Right, Tsunami, back you come," I say, and the little Panpour picks his way dizzily back towards me, chittering happily the whole time. "Good job, buddy. You did awesome."

Ella, our self-appointed medic, holds out her creamy arms for the monkey. "Auuuu?" I gently hand over Tsunami to her, and she starts rifling through my bag for medicine.

"Wow, hot stuff!" says Chili from across the arena. "That was smokin'!" "Was that a lame attempt to hit on me?" I call back teasingly. Chili just winks one red eye and tosses out another Poké Ball.

"Sakura!" I call, and she slips gracefully off of my shoulder and onto the floor, distractedly flicking leaves at Chili as she goes. "SniVY!" comes the distinctive cry.

"Let's go, Lillipup! One Pokémon left!" Another Lillipup? And do the words, three Pokémon left, mean anything to this guy? Apparently not. "Snivy, use your lovely new move, if you please," I smirk. "Leaf Tornado!"

A wisp of wind swirls around the room, and then peters out. "Is that all ya got, hot stuff? This is where I give it my all!" Chili laughs. Well, Chili, us too.

His words are ripped out of his mouth by a sudden gust of strong wind, mussing his hair and forcing him to shut his watering eyes.

Sakura has her amber eyes tightly shut as well, but her eyes are closed in concentration as she whips up the necessary wind. One by one she starts adding leaves to the tumult, until the air is filled with floating green leaves.

The leaves start spinning in a cyclone, faster and faster and faster, trapping the Lillipup in the centre of a giant, leafy hurricane. I glance at Cress, whose eyes are wide in awe, and at Cilan, who has a knowing smirk on his face.

Chili looks slightly scared, and so does his Lillipup. Remember how Lillipup run when outmatched? It's kind of hard to run away when you're stuck in a hurricane of razor-sharp blades.

The leaves whirl even faster still, until they blur into a veil of green. "It's good now," I tell Sakura, and she releases the storm, birch leaves fluttering gently to a halt. The Lillipup has fainted from sheer terror, exhaustion, and multiple long, narrow cuts from the leaves.

I could swear Sakura's smirking. "That was amazing for a first go," I tell her, and she gives me a look that clearly says, "What else did you expect?" I grin and return her to her capsule.

"You got me," Chili says, FINALLY speaking at normal volume. "I am... Burned... Out..." That's when it sinks in. We just won our first Gym Battle. We won. We're ahead of Cheren. We're one step closer to the Pokémon League!

Elation pours through my every vein and I resist the (very strong) urge to punch my fist in the air and yell. More specifically, to yell, "Cheren, kiss my ass!" Not appropriate in a Gym.

Chili recovers quickly, however, and the burning passion is quickly rekindled in his glowing red eyes. "Whoa HO! You're on FIRE! Well, it's the Pokémon League's rule. Take this Gym Badge!"

Chili hands me a thin piece of golden metal with three cut-outs filled with glass, like a stained-glass window. One is red, one is blue, and one is green, in an overlapping kind of basket weave pattern.

I click it into place in my now not-so-empty Badge Case, grinning widely. One down, seven to go. Grassy Cilan steps foward again to talk, and all I can think is that they must get really dizzy. Exhilaration can do funny things to your thought process.

"Gym badges are proof of a Trainer's abilities," he says, and I roll my eyes. "If you have one badge," he continues, "Pokémon, including traded Pokémon up to level 20, will obey you without question."

I don't want my Pokémon to obey me because of a piece of metal. I want them to listen because they respect and are friends with me, and I with them. But I'm still too in awe to voice this opinion at the moment.

Cilan blushes as he continues. "We also want you to have this," he says, handing over a small chip, as if for a PC in a Pokémon Centre. "This is TM 83, Work Up. If you use it, the user's Attack and Special Attack will go up."

"Thank you all so much," I say, sincere for once. "N-no problem," Cilan stammers, beet red. "Oh!" he says, straightening. "By the way... Technical machines can be used as many times as you'd like."

"Thank you," I say again, smiling and waving as I turn to exit the Gym, triumphant. The triplets smile and wave as I go. When I reach the side door, I can hear snippets of a conversation between them;

Cress's quiet, ponderous voice; "If there were 17 siblings here, there could be a specialist for each type of Pokémon..." And then Cilan; "Oh, I'm sure Mom would LOVE that." And finally Chili; "Want me to bring it up with her?" "NO!"

"Ah, the joys of Striaton City," I laugh, shaking my head as I push open the Gym doors, my Pokémon bouncing happily along beside me.

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**Oh yeah. For anyone who really cares, I took down my other fic, Imaginary, because the four reviews I got told me songfics were illegal. Thank goodness they haven't found this XD**

**Reviews are GREATLY appreciated ;)  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, everyone. Long time, no see. Before you come after me with rakes and shovels and pitchforks, I'M SORRY. Here is an extra long chapter to make up for everything. Okay? :)**

**Disclaimer; With the new pokemon coming out for X and Y, I'm not sure I WANT to own -_-**

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_And others do it for the retail_

So here I am running out of the Gym. My hair's blowing back behind me, and I have one hand on my cap to keep it from flying off. The other hand is triumphantly waving a shiny new Gym badge in the air as I pelt down the street.

There's nothing quite like that rush of exhilaration, that sensation that you've finally done it. Nothing quite as satisfactory as sprinting, the wind at your back, feet barely touching the ground as they fly over the cobbled road. . .

And then I get knocked down. "Oh, Touko! Professor Juniper asked me to give you something when I saw you." I groan, sitting up and gingerly rubbing my head to stop the street from spinning. Why is the street spinning again?

A disjointed hand waves in front of my face, and I blink, trying to clear the bubbles out of my vision. I blink again, furiously rubbing my eyes, and the blurry hand comes into sharper focus. I look up.

A splattered white lab coat, wire-rimmed glasses, and long blue hair tower above, tilting precariously over me. "Ehe," Fennel laughs nervously, covering her mouth with her hand and blushing. "My apologies." "Hey, Fennel," I say, blinking owlishly at her.

"Sorry about that," she says, smiling apologetically. "I was so eager to find you! I heard you beat Chili!" she says as she grabs my hand. I hoist myself up off of the ground, brushing gravel off of my bare legs and shorts.

"And in record time, too!" Fennel chatters on, tucking a strand of dusky blue hair behind her ear. I blush. "I wouldn't really call it record time," I say. "And I wouldn't have gotten there without my Pokémon."

"Oh, right," Fennel laughs easily. "Munna!" "Mun- what?" I say, mystified. "Why don't you come to my house with me? I'll be able to explain it better there." Now, I would love to go to Fennel's house. It's not everyday that you get to see a scientist's home, so this is pretty unique. The only problem is. . .

". . . Fennel?" I ask hesitantly. "Yes?" she says, tugging me down another street (they all look the same). "What blew up earlier?" "OH!" Fennel exclaims, and launches into this explanation of how you should never, ever, ever mix any sort of mushroom spores with hydrochloric acid.

"Dare I ask why not?" I say. Fennel's pretty features contort into a grimace. "Because when mixed, they create a compound known to be a knockout gas. That's the smoke you saw pouring out of the window."

I suddenly feel a lot less sure about visiting Fennel's house. "And I heard something about radiation?" I press on. Sorry, but I want to eradicate any chance of toxic smoke, knockout or not.

Fennel giggles. "That was Amanita. She's very young, and she tends to overreact a bit." We stop outside what I assume is Fennel's townhouse, and she draws out an electronic card from her (seemingly bottomless) pocket.

"So, you're a Trainer, I presume?" she asks, eyebrows scrunched in concentration as she taps in her security code. "Yes ma'am," I say, saluting. "Trainer Touko White, at your service." Fennel smiles in satisfaction as she hears a click from her door's lock.

"That means you're going to meet all of the Pokémon in the Unova region, am I right?" she asks as she jiggles the doorknob. "Oh, the stairs are right here," she adds as an afterthought as I trip and almost faceplant over a granite step.

"Well, I'm trying," I say. "But there are, what, six hundred or something in the world, aren't there? That'll take a long time for me to catch them all." "Mmm," Fennel agrees, wiping her shoes on a doormat before carefully slipping them off. I do the same, quickly copying her smooth actions.

"My room's right upstairs here," Fennel says, gesturing dramatically at a set of stairs leading upwards. "After you." I look at her suspiciously. "Why am I going first?" I ask carefully.

"Come on, it's right upstairs!" Fennel smiles widely, and it seems fake. _Whatever,_ I figure, and go upstairs. If she's going to do something to me, I have my Pokémon, so it's all good.

As soon as we're in Fennel's room, she slams the door and locks it with a key she whips out of her pocket (bottomless, I'm telling you). "What the- ?" "My little brother," Fennel explains. "Did you see that little kid standing by the stairs?"

"Yeah. . ." I say. She pulls a dramatic face. "He's always trying to get in here to screw up my experiments." I smirk and point to myself. "Only child. " Fennel gives my a longing look. "Lucky."

"So, like I said, I'm Fennel, and as you can see, I'm a scientist," she says, gesturing at her stained and worn lab coat and the various electronics scattered around the room.

"In fact," she continues, "the subject I'm researching is Trainers! Aurea Juniper is my friend from college. She asked me to help you guys on your journey, so I figured I would help out a bit. This is for you," she says, presenting me with another little electronic chip. "This is a Hidden Machine, also known as an HM."

I take the chip and carefully stow it in my bag. "Why, exactly, is it hidden?" I ask. It looks pretty conspicuous to me. "Who knows," Fennel shrugs, plunking down onto a yellow plush cushion. "You can sit, by the way. I'm not going to make you stand for this whole thing."

I grin and sit down opposite from her on another cushion. It squishes down beneath me silently, enveloping me like I imagine a cloud would. "Pretty much what HMs do is let a Pokémon use moves outside of battle," she says. "So I could use this to beat some sense into my friends?" I ask, grinning.

"Potentially," Fennel says casually. "I've used Strength on my brother a few times when he wouldn't get out of my room. But never mind that!" she says, a mischievous glint behind her glasses. "On to the subject at hand."

I find it amazing that a person can undergo such a drastic transformation in such a short time. Fennel has gone from a shy, aspiring scientist to a mischievous friend in under a day.

"Or paw, as it were," I say, watching Tsunami toss the gadget from paw to paw playfully. "Wanna put that back, please?" I say, and he hastily puts in back into my pink bag. "Thanks," I say, patting his head.

"As it were, that HM contains Cut, which can be used to chop down small trees. It can be used as many times as you want, like a TM," Fennel says, tinkering around with a beaker. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you; HMs are very hard to forget once they've been learned, so be careful with them!"

"Thanks a lot, Fennel," I smile. "No problem," she replies cheerfully. "It's not like I have any Pokémon I could use it on, anyways. I wonder. . ." Fennel trails off, talking more to herself than to me.

"Can I give you anything for this?" I ask. Honestly, this HM is worth a lot, and I'm willing to pay whatever I have to if this helps me on my journey. "Can you actually do me a favour?" she says tentatively. "It's not too big or anything. . ."

"Sure," I say. It's not like I have a deadline to finish this journey. I can take whatever amount of time I want to travel through Unova, and then eventually challenge the Pokémon League. I'm not going to go as quickly as Cheren, but I'm also not going to go as slowly as Bianca. "What's up?"

"Well. . . I'm sure you've heard of the Dreamyard, right outside the city?" Fennel says. "Oh! I've already been there," I say, releasing Tsunami from his capsule. "That's where I got this little fellow." The water monkey chirps happily and scampers over to Fennel, chittering away cheerily.

Fennel strokes Tsunami's fur thoughtfully as she continues. "A Pokémon called Munna lives there, and it gives off this vapour called Dream Mist. If you could maybe grab some for me. . ?"

"No problem," I say. "What does it look like?" Fennel rummages around in a drawer for something, and ends up pulling out a piece of paper triumphantly. "This!" A small, hand-drawn diagram of what looks like a puffy pink cloud is centered in the middle of the sheet, and the name Amanita is carefully printed in the bottom right corner.

"Amanita drew it for me," she says redundantly. "She's my little lab assistant, right?" A girl of about ten in a blue smock, glasses, and pigtails calls back from across the room. "I'm not little!"

"Anyways, that's Dream Mist," Fennel says, chuckling gently under her breath as she stows the precious picture away again. "And _this,_" she says, pulling out a much more detailed drawing, "is Munna."

Munna looks like a purple and pink flowered pillow that emits pink steam.

Seriously.

"So, I just need to find a Munna, get some Dream Mist, and come back?" I say. _This seems too easy, _I start to think, but then I cut the thought off before I can put my foot in my mouth again.

Fennel nods emphatically. "Yes, that's all. With that, I'll be able to use Game Sync to collect information on Trainers all over the world!" "Game Sync!" chimes in Amanita from the corner, and the two scientists strike up an animated conversation about electronics that I will never understand.

"I'll just go, then. . ." I say to the air, watching Fennel's glasses slip further and further down her nose as she talks. "Oh, sorry, Touko!" Fennel says, flushing red. "I get so caught up in my research sometimes. Thank you so much!" she calls as I descend down the stairs.

"Lock the door behind you!" she calls, waving, and I grin. Behind me, the lock clicks contentedly in the messily painted door. "Whoa," comes a voice from behind me, and I turn.

"You were in Fennel's room?!" Fennel's little brother is staring at me in obvious awe and admiration. "Only a little," I say awkwardly. Random little kids don't usually stare at me, so this is kind of disturbing. . .

"Fennel's a really good scientist, but she's scary when she gets into her projects! Once she actually kicked me out of her room!" I have a mental image of this little eight-year-old boy being booted out of Fennel's lab and comically sliding down the stairs, and I have to stifle a laugh.

_Touko, that was mean_, I reprimand myself. _Really mean. _"Thanks for the tip," I mumble, and start walking quickly towards the door. "Any time!" calls the kid behind me cheerfully. I sigh as I push open the weighted door. Is no one in this city normal?

Apparently not, because as soon as we enter the Dreamyard, I can tell that something's wrong. Call it intuition, call is ESP, call it whatever you want, but there's a certain sense of foreboding hanging in the air that wasn't here before. I can almost feel the tension, thick and suffocating, like a dense fog.

Having said that, I should also say that I don't scare easily. When we were younger, Cheren would do that little kid thing where you jump out from behind something and yell, "BOO!" as loudly as you can.

It never, ever worked. So it just goes to show how creepy this place is, because when I hear someone whisper, "Hey!" I pretty much jump out of my skin.

I whip around so quickly the forest and concrete blurs dizzyingly into a mess of green and grey. "Arceus!" I whisper-shout, which I know is _so_ clichéd and overdramatic, but I can't help it. "Bianca!"

"Hey, Touko," she giggles, straightening her ever-present green hat over her perfectly styled blond hair. "Are you looking for the dream Pokémon as well?"

Now THERE'S a shock. I love Bianca, don't get me wrong. But in our childhood group of three, we always had certain roles that we just kind of automatically assumed, based on our personalities.

Cheren's the serious one. Always. He's the one who, when Bianca and I make an immature joke, is always kind of smirking, off to the side. You can practically see what he's thinking; you two are such children.

He would always join in laughing, of course, but he was always the one who had that intensity hanging around him. If you really tried, you could probably see the determination radiating off of him. He wasn't a kid anymore, and he wanted (still wants, actually) everyone to see that he's the best.

I'm the most normal out of the three of us. Well, normal for a teenage girl. I don't really know how to describe myself, but Bianca say that I'm really, really competitive.

I'm also supposed to be straightforward, confident, guarded, resilient, exceptionally intelligent (ha!), sarcastic, and a bunch of other words we found when we caught Cheren reading a dictionary. Long story.

Okay. I'm good with that. I would describe myself as totally, completely badass, but I'm not sure anyone else would agree. But that's okay. Awesomeness is in the eye of the beholder and all that.

BACK on topic, the reason I'm so surprised that Bianca, of all people, is looking for Munna is because, well. . . Bianca's not really cut out for adventures. And that sounds really mean until you think about it.

Bianca grew up with her mom and dad in Nimbasa until she was four, and then moved to Nuvema, where Cheren and I had lived our entire lives. She claims she doesn't remember any of her "city life," but Cheren and I secretly think that's why she's so much more. . . naïve, I guess.

She's always had her dad hanging over her, and her mom pampering her, which is all great until you consider that she wasn't allowed to even leave her house. Not even to go to a sleepover at my house, which is literally next door. Me. Her best friend.

Her dad's under the impression that everyone out there is going to kidnap or kill Bianca. So she's the most sheltered person I've ever met. Really and truly. To the extent that she doesn't know what the Safari Zone in Hoenn is.

The most exposure she's had to the outside world is the fashion magazines delivered from Nimbasa. And even then, they were the clean, somewhat wholesome magazines with Nimbasa's Gym Leader, Elesa, in them.

So it's no wonder I stammer, "Y-yeah," trying to hide my shock at both being scared out of my wits and Bianca's newfound. . . whatever this is. "For Fennel, a scientist I met earlier. Apparently she needs this Dream Mist stuff it gives off that shows dreams."

"Wow," Bianca gasps breathlessly. "Now I'm really wondering how showing dreams works." I grin, an idea flashing through my (supposedly) exceptionally intelligent mind.

"Whose dreams are you thinking about, hmm, Bee?" I ask, nudging her gently. "Certainly not a certain raven-haired, bespectacled Trainer's?" Bianca flushes brilliant crimson, almost as red as the Pansear dancing around her feet.

"O-of course not, Touko!" she exclaims a little too quickly. "Whatever gave you that idea?" "Oh, nothing," I smirk as I smile knowingly at her. "I don't like Cheren!" she says irritably, huffing and stamping her foot into the ground.

I raise my eyebrows questioningly. "I never asked if you liked Cheren, Bianca. Whatever has gotten into you?" Bianca's cheeks pale to ivory white as she realizes what she has just said. "Don't tell him, Touko, _please_!"

I internally high-five myself and jump for joy, however ridiculous that may sound. One step closer to uniting my two best friends, though I'm not usually the type to play matchmaker. "I won't, Bee," I say reassuringly.

"Although. . ." Bianca turns to me worriedly. "Although?" she squeaks out. "Although I wouldn't worry too much about telling him." Bianca rounds on me, jade eyes enormous. "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"What's what supposed to mean? Did I say something?" I smirk. Might as well hold her in suspense for a little while. "Toukoooooo!"

I am saved from replying to Bianca by a long, echoing, painful-sounding moan. It belongs to Munna, I know that much. "Hey," says Bianca quietly, all thoughts of Cheren forgotten. I swear that girl has the memory span of a Basculin.

"Did you just hear that?" she gasps. "It sounds like it was coming from the other side of that wall!" Bianca then proceeds to grab me by my ponytail and drag me towards the mysterious noise, ignoring my shouts of indignation.

"OW, Bianca! Bianca! Bee, STOP!" Bianca looks at me, an evil gleam in her sparkling green eyes. "It's called payback," she says calmly. "Come on! Let's go see the Pokémon!" This girl will be the death of me.

We (somewhat) sneakily creep around yet another crumbling concrete barrier, only to come face to face with a levitating pink pillow. I hear Bianca's sharp intake of breath beside me and realize that no, that is not an ever-so-fashionable Gym Leader Elesa brand pillow pet. It's actually a real, living, breathing Munna.

. . .And the two people standing next to it (her?) are none other than real, living, breathing Team Plasma grunts. Complete with weird fairy-tail armor and ginger hair.

Now, if there's one thing I know, it's that Team Plasma is an organization that could give me a lot of trouble if I don't watch what I do and say. One false move, that one toe across the line, and I could end up in an extremely sticky, not to mention awkward, situation.

I'm still debating whether or not I should get involved when Bianca makes the decision for me. As the Munna starts drifting away, trailing its pink vapour behind it, two thing happen simultaneously.

One; Bianca starts chasing after the Pokémon, yelling, "Oh! Wait!" Of course, I chase after her, trying to jam my sweaty palm over her mouth. She stops in confusion, and the trips over what appears to be absolutely nothing, falling to the cracked asphalt.

Typically, she drags me with her, pulling me down to ground level with an audible _thump_. If Team Plasma didn't know we were here before, they certainly know now.

The second thing that happens is that the two Team Plasma grunts start running after the Munna, who is rapidly retreating behind one of the many scattered orange traffic cones poking out from the overgrown trees.

The female grunt (who is wearing. . . rouge? On her cheeks? Really?) sprints past us without a second glance, the male hot on her heels. Honestly, it's pretty funny watching two "knights" running after a pink pillow pet.

Especially when they're yelling absurd lines such as, "Halt, Munna!" and, "Cease and desist, in the name of Team Plasma!" How about just STOP?

However, the absurdity doesn't last too long, and things quickly go sour for the Munna. The Team Plasma guy grabs at the Pokémon and manages to catch it by the scruff of its lavender neck(?).

He hauls it back to the centre of the isolated clearing, ignoring Bianca's outraged (though muffled) cries and shrieks. "Hey, stop tha- !" I break off abruptly in the middle of my sentence when I see what they're doing, removing my hand from Bianca's sputtering, red-cheeked face. She's not the only one who's pissed now.

"You DAMN HYPOCRITES!" I yell, pointing an accusatory finger at the Team Plasma grunt. This guy, this guy on a team that's fighting for Pokémon LIBERATION, of all things, has hauled back and just kicked the Munna!

I'm fuming at this point, and the girl from Team Plasma just makes it worse by leering arrogantly at me. "Watcha gonna do about it, girly? You're just a kid," she snorts derisively, and kicks the Pokémon with the tip of her steel-toed boot.

It moans in anguish again, and emits a pale, cotton-candy pink vapour. "That's right," the guy smirks. "Spit out that Dream Mist! Do you know how much we could get for this on the black market?" Bianca is the one holding ME back now.

"Wait! We can talk this out," Bianca says nervously, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Who are you guys, anyways?" Right. She wasn't there for the whole "Touko-is-a-monster-who-hates-her-Pokémon-and-dese rves-to-rot-in-jail," speech.

Well, maybe that's a little harsh, but whatever,

"We're Team Plasma!" giggles the girl, who can't be any older than I am. At any other time, I would wonder how she even got into this mess, but I'm so mad right now, I can't even see straight.

"Liberating Pokémon from foolish humans night and day," continues the guy, who, again, looks to be fairly young for a villain. Rookies, maybe? "Working tirelessly for freedom!" finishes the girl triumphantly, pumping her gloved fist in the air and grinning widely.

. . .I'm reminded of that stupid kids' show, The Rockets, and how Jessie and James would have a little chant of their own. "Prepare for trouble! Make it double!" It's not so funny anymore now that we're actually confronted with the situation.

"Meowth, that's right," I deadpan, rolling my eyes. "No, really, what ARE you doing? Is it not bad enough that you're separating people from their Pokémon?"

"What are we doing?" They grin in unison. The boy looks at the girl somewhat uncertainly, and she looks at him in the way that so obviously states, "You're an idiot," and huffs. "Let me explain," she simpers condescendingly.

"The Pokémon Munna emits a mysterious vapour called Dream Mist, which shows people's dreams. We're going to use that influence to make people want to release their Pokémon! We'll show them dreams to manipulate their hearts," she finishes.

"It also fetches a pretty penny as a hallucinogenic," mumbles the guy, and the girl elbows him in the ribs. "That's our cut of the deal! Shut up!" The guy raises a ginger eyebrow at her, and she glowers and kicks the Pokémon again. "Come _on, _stupid! Spit out that Mist!

Bianca, poor sheltered Bianca, blinks widely, long lashes brushing her cheeks. "You're kicking a Pokémon to make it give off Dream Mist? That's horrid!" she exclaims, planting her hands on her hips. "You're Trainers too, aren't you? Shouldn't you want what's best for Pokémon?"

. . .That is probably the longest non-clothing related speech I have ever heard come out of her mouth.

"Well," says the guy, "we fight for a different reason. Unlike you, greedy brat, we're fighting for the freedom of Pokémon. And that means," here he smirks widely and reaches towards his belt, "we'll do anything it takes to achieve our goal! Including fighting and taking Pokémon by force!"

He pulls out a shiny dual-coloured sphere, and I instinctively reach towards my bag. "And on that note. . ." his grin grows even wider, and I get this horrible sinking feeling in the bottom of my stomach. "We're going to rescue your Pokémon from you!"

I hear Bianca's cry of, "_Don't hurt Touko!"_ but the next few minutes are a blur. I don't know what happened, but the next thing I know, the two grunts are backing away cautiously, the gravel and sticks on the ground leaving imprints in their hands.

The funny thing is, they're not backing away from me, even though I'm pretty sure I curbstomped both of them. No, their backs are facing me, and they're backing away from something I had hoped I wouldn't have to see again.

Ghetsis.

After our little run-in at Accumula Town, the predominant emotion I'm feeling is rage. So much so that I'm seeing red. Bianca, on the other hand, is in much the same position as the grunts, her face a mask of fear as she cowers behind me.

I don't blame her. A man with a mask that covers only half his face, a robe with eyes on it, and an extremely angry expression can be intimidating. Ghetsis takes a step forward, robe swishing quietly against the ground, and pink mist swirls in hypnotic spirals from under it. The grunts tremble in their boots.

"What, exactly," comes his rasping baritone, "are you two doing goofing off?" The two grunts take another step back, and the guy trips over a fallen branch and falls firmly on his rear. "M-my Lord!" stutters the girl, arrogant persona gone. "I can explain- !"

A flash of magenta light interrupts whatever she was about to say, and my head throbs as I sink to the ground, dizzy. What on earth is going on here? I hear Bianca whimper beside me, and look to where her shaking finger is pointing.

There are two Ghetsises. And while they may look different from the side, with one having the absence of a mask and gold robes instead of purple, they are undoubtedly the same person.

Another flash of light causes a bolt of splitting pain to go through my head, and I can see green lightning strikes beneath my closed eyelids. I groan, though I'm fairly sure no one is paying any attention to me anymore.

When I reopen my eyes, I'm certain that I won't stay conscious for much longer. My vision is getting blurry (again), and my head feels like someone drove about twenty nails into my cranium.

I can vaguely make out the outlines of Ghetsis's stormy expression and the grunts running in fear, and I shudder, hoping he doesn't come after Bianca and me next. However, I don't get the chance to find out, as another sudden burst of light makes me black out.

I have two thought as I'm losing my grip on the world;

One; Why does there appear to be vivid pink mist streaming off of everything?

And two; What on earth have I gotten myself into?

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**Still wondering whether or not I should take out the lyrics...? Also, options; drabble bank/ipod shuffle challenge for Soul Eater, Ghost Hunt, or Angel Beats? Which do you think?**


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